Aomori Squid Patties (イカメンチ, Ika-menchi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy nabe or other heavy pot for frying
• •Oil thermometer, or a dry wooden chopstick for testing oil
• •Spider skimmer or long cooking chopsticks
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Splatter screen

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the squid

   Use squid that looks glossy and smells clean, faintly of the sea. If it smells sharp or ammoniac, make another dish today. Frozen squid is a sensible stand-in if it was frozen while fresh: thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, rinse it quickly, and pat it very dry. Water is the enemy here because it loosens the batter and makes the oil spit.

2. 2

   Chop the squid

   Separate the tentacles, fins, and body pieces. Chop half the squid quite fine, almost sticky, and leave the rest in small pea-size pieces. The fine part binds the patty, and the larger pieces give the springy bite that makes ika-menchi taste of squid instead of paste. Let the knife do the seasoning.

   A food processor can help only if you pulse briefly. Stop before the squid turns smooth, or the patty becomes heavy and dull.
3. 3

   Salt the vegetables

   Toss the chopped cabbage, onion, and carrot with 1/2 teaspoon salt and leave them for 10 minutes. Squeeze them firmly in a clean cloth or your hands until they stop dripping. This is not fussiness. Cabbage and onion carry more water than they admit, and that water would thin the mixture and soften the fried edge.

4. 4

   Mix the batter

   In a bowl, combine the chopped squid, squeezed vegetables, egg, flour, katakuriko, sake, soy sauce, ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir until the mixture turns tacky and holds together on a spoon. If it slumps like soup, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Use only what you need, because too much flour hides the squid, and this dish has nothing to hide.

5. 5

   Heat the oil

   Pour oil into a heavy pot to a depth of about 2.5cm and heat it to 170 to 175C. If you have no thermometer, dip in a dry wooden chopstick: small lively bubbles should gather around it at once. Too cool and the patties drink oil; too hot and the outside browns before the squid cooks through.

6. 6

   Fry the patties

   Use two spoons or wet hands to lower small patties into the oil, about 6cm wide and 1.5cm thick. Fry in batches, giving them room, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deep golden with ragged crisp edges and an opaque, springy center. Keep them small. A large patty asks the crust to wait for the middle, and crusts are not patient.

7. 7

   Drain and serve

   Lift the patties onto a wire rack, not a flat pile of paper towels. Air under the patty keeps the underside crisp. Serve with rice, miso soup, and pickles, with lemon or a small dish of sauce if you like. Use the sauce lightly. If the squid is good, it only needs company, not rescue.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for squid that came in today, or use good frozen squid thawed slowly in the refrigerator. Tired fresh squid is worse than well-handled frozen squid, and no ginger will make it honest again.
• •Chop by hand if you can. The knife gives you the two textures this dish needs: fine pieces for binding, larger pieces for bite. A smooth paste makes a sulky patty.
• •If the oil foams hard or spits too much, the mixture is too wet or the pan is crowded. Fry smaller batches and use a splatter screen, not a lid. A lid traps moisture and softens the edge.
• •Serve the sauce on the side and use it lightly. Ika-menchi is built from thrift, but it shouldn't taste like apology.

Advance Preparation

• •The squid can be cleaned and dried up to 1 day ahead, then kept covered in the refrigerator. Chop it just before mixing so it stays clean and springy.
• •The vegetables can be chopped, salted, squeezed, and refrigerated up to 4 hours ahead.
• •Fry the batter soon after mixing. Once salt meets squid and vegetables, the mixture slowly loosens.
• •Leftover patties keep 2 days refrigerated. Reheat them in a toaster oven or 180C oven until the edges crisp again; microwaving makes them soft.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 205g)