Chinese Five-Spice Octopus

Since I'm still barely able to open my mouth, let alone chew, after my wisdom teeth surgery on Friday, I haven't been eating anything very interesting lately.  Miso soup is good for a sore mouth since everything in it is soft and easy to ingest so that's what I've been having this week.

I made this Food & Wine Five-Spice Octopus not too long ago.  I was so fed up with the lack of decent seafood in East Texas that when we went back to Atlanta recently, we paid a nostalgic visit to our old farmer's market to get some items we can't find around here.  It has the most amazing seafood section.  I wanted to hug one of the fish counter workers but I resisted.  It just felt so right to ask Josh, "Do we want just tentacles? Squid? Cuttlefish? Baby octopus?" instead of "Chicken or whitefish?".  Why don't Texans eat fish?!  I don't care anymore.  We sucked it up and drove the 100 miles to Dallas last weekend and found a nice Asian market so at least I have SOMEWHERE to get what I need to feed my Asian food addiction.

4 servings:
1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
salt
vegetable oil, for frying
2 large eggs
Equal parts panko and flour, for the breading
1 lb cleaned squid or baby octopus, bodies cut into
    1/2” rings, tentacles halved
fresh ground pepper
1 tsp olive oil
2 scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs minced red onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
lime wedges, for serving

In a small bowl, combine the five-spice powder with 1 tsp salt.

Mmm, octopus.  They look so different raw and whole.  A bit gross to those who aren't adventurous eaters.  Now suck it up and slice the bodies into 1/2" rings and the legs in half.  Sometimes you might be able to find pre-sliced cephalopod molluscs but like I say, that's one more set of hands touching my food so if I can do it myself, I will.

In a large saucepan, heat 1” of vegetable oil to 350°.  In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs.  Spread the cornstarch and panko in another shallow bowl.  You may need to refill the panko/cornstarch mixture sometime in the middle so just start with 1/2c of each and go from there.  Working in small batches, dip the squid in the egg and shake off the excess.  Dredge the squid in cornstarch/panko  and shake off the excess.  Add the squid to the oil and fry until golden and crisp, about a minute.  Only have about 10 pieces in the oil at any one time so that the oil temperature doesn't drop too much.  Transfer the squid to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the scallions, garlic, onion and jalapeno.  Stir fry until fragrant, about 2 min.

Add the squid and stir fry until just heated through.  Sprinkle with the five-spice mixture, garnish with the lime wedges, and serve right away.            

   
I love octopus.  I love it even more when it's fried. The best calamari I've ever had was at a Thai place called Nan in Atlanta.  I haven't had it for a good long while since moving away so I was really pleased with how this recipe turned out.