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Fried Calamari - deep fried calamari recipe Italian style. Serve with tomato sauce as dipping sauce, this is the best recipe ever, extra crispy, easy and delicious!
Table of Contents
Fried Calamari Recipe
Fried calamari is one of the most popular appetizers served in restaurants, especially Italian restaurants.
Crispy fried calamari is absolutely delicious and my homemade recipe is so easy to make.
The calamari is deep fried, extra crispy with a secret coating. It’s served with a simple tomato sauce as the dipping sauce.
This is the best fried calamari recipe ever!
Other Recipes You Might Like
- Fried Shrimp Balls
- Basil Squid
- Fried Okra
How to Make Fried Calamari?
This recipe is very easy to make and calls for only a few ingredients:
- Cleaned squid with tentacles
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Salt and cayenne pepper
The squid has extra crispy coating and tender inside. There is no need for buttermilk.
Cooking Tips
For the best results, please follow the tips and techniques below:
- For even coating on the squid, use a strainer to shake off the excess flour.
- Drain the excess oil on the fried calamari on paper towels before serving.
- If you don’t have simple tomato sauce at home, you can use tomato based pasta sauce as the dipping sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Calamari the Same As Squid?
Calamari is the Italian word for squid. In the United States, fried calamari is basically fried squid.
It’s made of squid and its tentacles, battered or coated with a flour mixture and then deep fried.
What Is the Best Coating for Fried Calamari?
For extra crispy fried squid, coat the calamari rings and tentacles with a mixture of all purpose flour and cornstarch.
The ratio of all purpose flour and cornstarch is 2:1. Another secret ingredient is egg.
Add a beaten egg to the squid before coating with the flour and cornstarch mixture. Make sure the coating is even.
Shake off the excess coating before deep frying and you will have the best and crispiest fried squid.
Can I Pay Fry Instead of Deep Fry?
For the best results, I don’t recommend pan frying. However, you can shallow fry the squid and get the same results.
All you have to do is add some oil to a skillet, 1 inch high from the bottom of the skillet. Shallow fry the squid until golden brown.
You can also use an air fryer for this recipe.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 303 calories per serving.
What to Serve with This Recipe?
Serve this dish with other Italian dishes. For a multi-course Italian meal at home, I recommend the following recipes.Parmesan Garlic Bread
Marinated Tomatoes
Italian Shrimp Pasta
Italian Roasted Carrots
How to Fry Calamari?
Please refer to the recipe card below for detailed step-by-step method on how to make calamari like a pro.
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Fried Calamari
Fried Calamari - deep fried calamari recipe, Italian style. Serve with tomato sauce as dipping sauce, this is the best recipe ever, extra crispy, easy and delicious!
4.46 from 99 votes
By Bee Yinn Low
Yield 3 people
Prep 15 minutes mins
Cook 5 minutes mins
Total 20 minutes mins
Ingredients
- 8-12 oz (230g-350g) cleaned squid and tentacles
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 4 oz (125g) all-purpose flour
- 2 oz (60g) corn starch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 dashes cayenne pepper
- oil (for deep drying)
- bottled tomato sauce or pasta sauce (for dipping)
- chopped parsley (for garnishing)
Instructions
Cut the tubes of cleaned squid into 1/2-inch (1cm) ring.
Transfer the squid to a big bowl with a beaten egg. Stir to mix well.
In another big bowl, combine the all purpose flour, cornstarch, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir to mix well. Working in small batches, drop some squid into the flour mixture. Coat well and transfer the squid out to a strainer.
Repeat until all squid are nicely coated with the flour mixture. Gently shake the strainer with squid to remove excess flour.
Heat up a skillet with 1-inch (2.5cm) oil on high heat. When the oil is heated, deep fry the squid until they turn light brown in color. Remove the squid from oil and drain on paper towels.
Garnish the squid with parsley, serve warm with tomato sauce.
Course: Italian Recipes
Cuisine: Calamari
Keywords: Fried Calamari
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Fried Calamari
Amount Per Serving (3 people)
Calories 303Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Fat 3g5%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 231mg77%
Sodium 154mg7%
Carbohydrates 49g16%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 18g36%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
