Name: Lau’s Family Kitchen’s calamari with shrimp sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 1 calamari (about 330gm), cleaned; 1 tbsp potato flour; 1 tsp har cheong (see note), mixed with 1 tbsp warm chicken stock; 1 spring onion, cut into julienne; 15 gm ginger (about 3cm), cut into julienne; ½ long red chilli, seeds removed, cut into julienne

Lau’s Family Kitchen’s calamari with shrimp sauce

A fresh, simple and easy seafood dish from the long-standing Melbourne restaurant.

Lau Family Kitchen's calamari with shrimp sauce — Lau's Family Kitchen's calamari with shrimp sauce

Serves 2

Prep

15M

Cook

Total

20M

This is one of the most beautiful dishes to eat at Lau’s Family Kitchen. Its beauty lies in two elements – super-fresh calamari and the iconic shrimp paste, har cheong, from Tai O village in Hong Kong. This condiment pairs really well with seafood, and is similar to other Southeast Asian shrimp pastes such as belacan or terasi but has a milder taste. This dish is a cinch to make – thinly coat the calamari in the potato flour (this creates a smoother texture when eating) but just make sure not to overcook it or it’ll turn rubbery.

Ingredients

1 calamari (about 330gm), cleaned

1 tbsp potato flour

1 tsp har cheong (see note), mixed with 1 tbsp warm chicken stock

1 spring onion, cut into julienne

15 gm ginger (about 3cm), cut into julienne

½ long red chilli, seeds removed, cut into julienne

Method

1.Halve calamari hoods lengthways, score insides in a crosshatch pattern and cut into 5cm x 6cm strips. Transfer calamari to a bowl, add potato flour and mix well to coat.

2.Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add calamari and cook until opaque (1 minute). Drain well, quickly pat dry with a tea towel and transfer to a bowl. Combine calamari with har cheung mixture and season to taste. Top with spring onion, ginger and chilli, stir to combine and serve.