Chargrilled Spicy Squid Salad

This salad is Thailand in a bowl.

Colour and texture are very important in all Thai salads as well as the spiciness, sourness and saltiness in the dressing, all of the above have to balance well for the perfect salad.

It is also very important to have all the ingredients ready so you can just toss and serve.

I like to marinate the squid with the dressing and then mix it the with the herbs.  I serve the remainder of the dressing aside because I find that if I mix it with the herbs they instantly loose their freshness.

Ingredients

• 500 grams squid, cleaned and cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon Thai roasted red chilli paste
• 1 handful coriander sprigs, torn
• 1 handful mint leaves
• 1 handful Thai basil leaves
• 4 kaffir lime leaves finely sliced
• 4 cm lemongrass stalk, white part only, very finely sliced
• 4 Asian shallots, finely sliced

Ingredients for the Dressing

• 2 tablespoons palm sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Thai roasted red chilli paste
• 2 birds eye chillies, sliced

Method

• Put the squid into a mixing bowl, add the chilli paste and stir to coat them well.  Leave to marinate for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Heat a chargrill pan or BBQ .
• Cook the squid for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through.

• Add the squid to a mixing bowl and add some of the dressing.
• Mix the squid with the coriander, the mint, the Thai basil, the sliced kaffir leaves, the lemongrass, and the shallots.

• Toss well, transfer to a plate and serve.
• Serve the remaining dressing aside.

Tips

• You can use as much Thai chilli paste as you want.  It all depends on how spicy you want your salad.
• It is very important not to over cook the squid, two to three minutes on each side is enough.  You do not want tough and rubbery squid.
• You can also add roughly chopped roasted peanuts to add more texture.