Squid

Calamar

What it is

Its muscle has almost no fat and a great deal of collagen, which is why there are exactly two ways to cook it — under two minutes or over thirty. Anything between those and it is rubber, and no amount of skill rescues it.

In the kitchen

Score the inside of the tube in a diamond pattern before it hits the pan. It curls decoratively and cooks evenly.

Goes with

Garlic Chili pepper Lemon Olive oil Parsley Squid ink Tomato Paprika

Also used with

Aonori Moshio seaweed salt Ogonori Shacha sauce Tosaka-nori Transglutaminase

In season alongside

Saltwater conger (anago) Brill Arctic char Clam Brown crab Crayfish

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