In Asia, fish paste is used in so many different styles of cuisines and recipes, from standard boiled fished balls, to stir fry fish cakes, to deep fried fish balls. One of my favorite seafood is squid because it has good flavor, sweetness, and a nice chewy texture that I love. As a kid, I always stick 1 chopstick into a squid ball and then eat it like a lollipop but my parents always tell me that it’s rude to do that at the dining table. I’m sure every kid in Taiwan has done the same thing :). Deep fried squid balls are less commonly found in the US but it’s very popular in Asia. Here in the US, every time I go to an Italian place, I will always order deep fried calamari as an appetizer to satisfy my squid cravings. To me, if fish balls were compared to french fries, then squid balls are like seasoned curly fries, it’s just that much better.
An good-to-know suggestion about these fried squid balls is that if you don’t finish them deep fried, they actually make a very good addition to any soups. Similar to the Taiwanese meat ball soup, you can add these into a soup and make it a nice ending to your meal. Alas, for me, there will never be any leftovers when it comes to deep fried squid balls.
Ingredients
- 8 oz squid
- 8 oz basa fillet *
- 4 oz fatty ground pork **
- ¼ cup sweet potato starch
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup crushed ice
* If you can’t find basa, you can use any white fish as a substitute like sole or cod or pollock. I’ve never tried tilapia so i can’t vouch for it.
** I usually take the fattier parts of a pork belly and grind up the meat myself
Directions
I was able to find cleaned squid at my local Asian supermarket. You might be able to find frozen squid, even if it’s already cut into rings, it’ll still work for this recipe. If you happen to buy fresh squid, please remove all the inside and the skin before using. Cut the squid into 1” chunks. Whether it’s squid or calamari or cuttlefish, all would be fine. Usually this type of seafood doesn’t provide enough ‘cling’ to last through the cooking process so we also need to add fish. Cut up your fish into about 1” chunks so it’s easier for the food processor to manage.
Throw all the ingredients, wet and dry, along with the squid, fish, and ground pork into the food processor. Process the ingredients until it’s a nice smooth paste. If you prefer to have chunks of squid in the squid ball, you can reserve ½ of the squid and only toss it in at the end and just pulse the food processor a few times to chop it up into small pieces. Remove and sit in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes for the paste to firm up for cooking.
Heat up oil to about 350° F for deep frying. Typical Chinese frying oil is peanut oil but you can use whatever kind of oil you like as long as it can withstand some high temperatures so obviously not olive oil. I’m using an expeller-pressed coconut oil which has the benefits of coconut oil without the flavor. I also have the virgin coconut oil that I use for baking and when I fry coconut shrimp or the tropical chicken katsu with oreo crumbs. Form the squid paste into balls and slide the squid balls into the hot oil. Fry for about 5 minutes at this lower temperature until the squid ball is fully cooked. At this point, even though the squid ball is cooked, but it won’t be super crispy since there is a lot of water content in our ingredients. Let the squid balls cool down a bit.
Turn the heat up to about 375° F and re-fry the squid balls for 45-60 seconds. The purpose of refrying at a higher heat are twofolds. First, it will make the outside crispy. Second, it will expel excess oil that was drawn into the ingredient during the first fry. Many Asian dishes use this two fry method like our walnut shrimp. Serve while hot.
There are two basic dipping ‘sauces’ that go perfect with the fried squid balls. First is a traditional toasted white pepper with sea salt. Just combine the two ingredients and lightly toast them in the toaster oven to bring out the aroma. The second is the sweet chili sauce that you can find in the Asian section of any supermarket. If you want an extra kick, mix in some sriracha.
- 8 oz squid
- 8 oz basa fillet
- 4 oz fatty ground pork
- ¼ cup sweet potato starch
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup crushed ice
- Cut up squid into 1” chunks
- Cut up fish into 1” chunks
- Throw all ingredients into food processor
- Process until everything becomes a gooey paste
- Refrigerate for about 15-30 minutes to firm up the paste
- Heat up oil for deep frying about 350°F
- Form squid paste into balls
- Gently slide squid balls into hot oil and fry for 5 minutes constantly turning the squid balls until golden and remove
- Turn the heat up to about 375° F and re-fry the squid balls for about 1 minute to get the outside crispy
- Serve with salt and white pepper or sweet chili sauce