Calamari Special - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 lb frozen calamari or 1/2 lb fresh calamari
1/2 cup whole milk, homogenized
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup japanese panko breadcrumbs or 1/4 cup regular fine dry breadcrumb
1/2 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon sambal oelek (red hot pepper flakes sauce)

Preparation

Firstly, prepare a deep-fryer with a good vegetable oil and heat to 375 degrees F, or use a medium size deep frying pan on high heat.
Defrost calamari and rinse under cold running water.
Cut calamari into 1/4 inch strips. If using fresh calamari, just cut into 1/4 inch strips. Pat dry calamari with paper towels.
In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together flour and Panko bread crumbs.
Add milk to a bowl and dip calamari in the milk.
Toss calamari strips in flour/crumb mixture just to coat. You do not want to have a heavy coating as it could drop off when frying.
Flash fry coated calamari in prepared deep-fryer or frying pan for about 15 seconds, deep frying in small amounts.
In a frying pan, heat 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to medium-high heat.
Add garlic and Sambal Oelek and stir well, cover with a screen to prevent oil from spattering or splashing.
Saute flash-fried calamari for about 1 minute or until nicely light brown. Do not over fry as it could get chewy.
Serve calamari with your favorite dip.