Sautéed Squid and Chinese Chives (serves 2-3 as part of a shared meal)

Squid is quick to cook, the less time you spend cooking squid the better it will come out.  If you cook too long the squid will become rubbery and not so enjoyable.  Here is another way that I like to cook squid especially when I have lots of fresh home grown Chinese chives.  My parents' garden is full of these organic Chinese chives and when they stopped by recently they dropped off a cooler full of prepared food and home grown vegetables and herbs for my husband and me.

Sautéed Squid and Chinese Chives (serves 2-3 as part of a shared meal)


Ingredients:

1 lb cleaned squid, scored and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 C chopped Chinese chives
2-3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch mix with 2 tsp water (thickener for the sauce)

Method:

1) Heat oil in a medium size pan over medium high heat.
2) Once the pan is hot, add garlic and chives, saute for about 2 minutes.
3) Add squid and saute for about 3 minutes or until the squid turns opaque and curled up.
4) Add oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar and cornstarch mixture.  Saute for 1 more minute and remove from heat.

scoring the cleaned squid
(to help tenderize the squid and
to make it look pretty)

my 2 year old nephew learning
to use chopsticks by himself

*I massaged the squid with about a tablespoon of salt and washed it well with cold water.  I put the squid in a colander and let as much of the water drain off before cooking.
*Once you add the squid to the pan there will be a lot of liquid that comes out. If there is too much liquid to your liking then discard some after you have completed step 3. You may want to decrease the amount of oyster sauce, fish sauce and sugar.  
*Check out the link on How to Clean Squid.