Fry

Squid and Celery Stir Fry

by:
May  5, 2011
4.8
4 Ratings
Squid and Celery Stir Fry
  • Serves 1-2
Author Notes

Do you always have some leftover celery in your refrigerator? And aren't you tired of eating it with dip or in salad? For some reason, celery is one of the slowest things I am able to use in my refrigerator. My favorite way to use celery is in stir fry, and I especially like the combination of celery and squid. The tender squid and crispy celery make a very nice texture contrast. Squid is always in my freezer as well since I can't always find fresh squid and sometimes I have to buy frozen. And frozen squid usually comes in a large portion and it is hard to use it all at once. —Yuko

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/4 pound squid (with or without tentacles) ..... cleaned and skinned
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 celery stalk ..... slice 1/4 inch diagonal
  • some celery leaves (optional)
  • 1 small garlic clove ..... minced
  • small pieces ginger (about 1/4 tsp)..... minced
  • 2 teaspoons sake (you can substitute with dry white vermouth, dry sherry or chicken stock)
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1/8 (or more) teaspoons salt
  • pepper
  • 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Directions
  1. With a kitchen scissor or a knife, cut one side of the squid to open it. With the tip of a very sharp knife, score the squid diagonally (1/16" - 1/8" intervals). Do not cut all the way through. Turn the squid 90 degrees and score the squid diagonally again to make a criss-cross pattern. Cut the squid into bite size pieces and spread on a colander. Place the colander in the sink.
  2. Pour boiling water over the squid and drain well (or boil water in a pot and blanch the squid in the hot boiling water for a few seconds and drain).
  3. Heat oil in a fry pan on high heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant without burning them -- about 30 seconds.
  4. Add the celery and the squid and saute about 2 minutes or less. Add celery leaves and toss.
  5. Add sake, soy sauce, salt and pepper and stir well.
  6. Drizzle sesame oil around the pan and stir one more time and remove from the heat. Plate and serve.
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8 Reviews

sevenfaces
sevenfaces May 9, 2023
At last, a starring role for celery - loved it! Had no squid to hand but desperate to use up my celery so used basa instead, without pre-blanching. Also, I wasn’t thinking straight and used fish sauce instead of soy but I think it gave it a nice kick actually! Will eventually make this with squid and soy as written, when I get some more celery :)
 
twinjadojo
twinjadojo January 18, 2014
Made this last night and loved it. I doubled the squid, quadrupled the celery and tripled the sauce [I was tired and making things easy on myself. Next time I vow to embrace the math.] The celery released a bunch of its juice, and so my sauce didn't thicken around the stir fry as much as I imagine is intended. I was in awe, however, at how tender my squid ended up, despite my keeping it on the heat longer in an attempt to reduce my abundant sauce. Is that the result of the initial boiling water rinse? I'm hypothesizing that it makes the outer most protein network contract and seal in the moisture. Is that what's going on there? I'd imagine this technique could foolproof most squid cooking methods, save for frying . . .
 
BoulderGalinTokyo
BoulderGalinTokyo March 24, 2012
Lucky me, I get to be your 1000 view! I was a little sad to see you didn't get a Community Pick for this recipe. I have a similar recipe without garlic, more like a vinegar marinade, but with the sesame oil. I read the question and I don't understand her question either. I thought you explained it very well (cutting the ika) but a picture might make it more visual for so many Americans who have never tasted squid.
 
Yuko
Yuko March 25, 2012
Thanks for your comment. I am not so disappointed since some readers sent me the positive comments : ) I will try your vinegar marinade next time. That sounds good too!
 
Vivian H.
Vivian H. March 14, 2012
Pretty. Yummy.
 
Peter A.
Peter A. March 11, 2012
This looks magnificent. We do a webcomic about celery and I was looking at recipes http://www.zombielogicblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/zombie-logic-webcomics-presents-celery.html
 
Midge
Midge May 6, 2011
What a gorgeous photo; sounds delish too.
 
mrslarkin
mrslarkin May 6, 2011
Wow, this sounds really great! (I love celery in stir fry).