Hot butter cuttlefish(cuttlefish recipe). | ISLAND SMILE (2024)

Batter-fried calamari(cuttlefish)in a garlic butter sauce with chilli paste and scallions is a popular Sri Lankan seafood dish served as an appetizer or a side dish.

This cuttlefish recipe is one seafood recipe you’ll be making quite often.

Crispy, crunchy, and spicy, this fried cuttlefish is a dish hard to resist.

To make the hot butter cuttlefish recipe,

You first coat them in a mix of cornflour, and spice then deep frying them.

Once they are fried until crispy and golden, the fried cuttlefish is added to a spicy hot garlic butter sauce.

You will simply love the crunch and buttery flavour of this cuttlefish stir-fry with a little bit of lime juice on it.

So here’s your step-by-step guide on how to make the best hot butter cuttlefish dish at home.

If you want to make a vegetarian version of hot butter cuttlefish, my hot butter mushroom recipe should make you happy.

What to serve with batter-fried cuttlefish.

• Serve as a savoury dish on its own.

• Serve with any type of rice.
  • how to cook rice on the stove.
  • Sri Lankan Yellow Rice(turmeric rice).
  • Easy lemon rice recipe.
  • Indian fragrant ghee rice(nei choru).

• vegetarian dishes to pair with the fried cuttlefish.
  • Pineapple salsa(fresh and easy to make).
  • Sri Lankan-mildly spiced Pineapple curry. or spicy pineapple curry.
  • Easy eggplant stir fry
  • Potato and green bean curry(Sri Lankan, vegetarian).

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tips to make hot butter cuttlefish.

• you can now buy cleaned and frozen cuttlefish in most supermarkets.
• I would recommend buying these to make the hot butter cuttlefish.
• But if you are cleaning the fresh cuttlefish on your own follow the instructions below or watch my YouTube video on how to clean cuttlefish.

How to clean cuttlefish/calamari.

1. If you want to clean and prepare the fresh cuttlefish then do it a day before and freeze to reduce work.
2. keep in mind that once you’ve cleaned, the calamari should be white minus the spine and anything that is jelly-like or hard in texture.
3. First, Fill a pan with water and add half a teaspoon of turmeric powder.
4. leave it for a few minutes and start pulling off the outer Purple skin.
   The grainy texture of the Turmeric helps to remove the skin and reduce the odour.
5. Gently pull off the head of the squid by twisting it without breaking the ink sac.
6. Cut off the tentacles, if you are using them, remove the hard part in the middle of it which you can squeeze out and use the tentacles as well.
7. Once you peel off the Purple skin move on to finding the quill of the cuttlefish.
8. reach inside of the squid and pull it out, you know it’s the quill as it looks like a piece of plastic. then remove any gel-like lumps you may find inside.
9. To clean the inside, you can cut the pouch-like body of the cuttlefish open and scrape the inside clean.
10. Drain and dry then cut them into rings or the way you like them.

Here’s a video on how to clean cuttlefish to learn the whole process.

Frying the cuttlefish.

When frying the cuttlefish, make sure the oil is on low medium heat and stays constant throughout the frying process.

Utensils and appliances needed.

• Chopping board/ knife.
• Large bowl to wash and clean the cuttlefish.
• Large sieve or colander to remove excess water from cleaned and cut cuttlefish.
  Bowl to mix the dry flour batter.
• Bowl covered in kitchen paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
• Large slotted spoon.
• Large frying pan to make the hot butter sauce and combine the batter-fried cuttlefish.

Substituting ingredients for the fried cuttlefish.

If you can’t find chillie paste then replace it with dried chillies, use whole chillies as well as chilli flakes.

More seafood recipes

Calamari curry(cuttlefish curry).

Sri Lankan red chilli fish curry.

Chilli crab curry

Sri Lankan prawn curry.

Pepper prawn curry.

Workflow to make the cuttlefish recipe.

• Have all the ingredients and utensils needed to make the cuttlefish.
• Clean and cut the cuttlefish as described above on the beginner’s note and recipe.
• Marinate the cuttlefish for a few minutes.
• Prepare the flour batter for the cuttlefish.
• Cover the cuttlefish in cornflour batter.
• Fry them in small batches.
• Make the hot butter sauce for the cuttlefish stir fry.
• Add the batter-fried cuttlefish to the hot butter sauce.

RECIPE DIFFICULTY-LITTLE CARE NEEDED

The ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

Ingredients to make batter-fried cuttlefish.

500g of cuttlefish/calamari

1 egg white

1 cup of cornflour

1/2 a teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 cups of oil

A bundle of spring onions(these could be 5-7 individual stalks)

1/2 a cup of butter

1 and 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic(about 4-5 garlic pods minced)

1 and 1/2 tablespoons of chilli paste

1 tablespoon of sugar(optional to give a little sweet and spicy element to it)

How to make fried butter cuttlefish

Method

Have all the other ingredients ready and prepped to make the hot butter cuttlefish.

For this hot butter cuttlefish recipe, I’m using cleaned and frozen calamari as it saves so much time as well as time spent on cleaning my chopping boards.

But if you are using fresh cuttlefish or calamari, use the instructions given above on beginner’s notes on how to do it.

How to cut the cuttlefish to batter fry them.

Once cleaned, cut them into rings or as shown below into rectangular strips.

The important part is to have thin slits on them.

I have shown them in the image below.

How to wash the cuttlefish.

Once you’ve cut them as shown or described above, place them in a bowl.

Add 1/4 turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Rub into the cuttlefish and then thoroughly wash the pieces in running water to get rid of the smell and slippery texture.

You will have to wash 2-3 times before placing the cuttlefish pieces in a colander or large sieve to drain all excess water.

How to marinate the cuttlefish.

Once you’ve drained all excess water, place them in a large bowl.

Add salt(1 tsp)and combine, I would suggest using a spoon or disposable gloves. the smell despite washing can still get into your hands.

Add the egg white(from 1 egg)into the cuttlefish pieces and combine well.

Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.

And move on to preparing the batter mixture to coat the cuttlefish.

How to batter coat the cuttlefish.

Add cornflour(1 cup), salt(1/2 tsp), pepper(1 tsp), turmeric(1/4 tsp) into a separate bowl.

Combine.

Have a large bowl covered in paper kitchen towels ready.

This will hold the fried cuttlefish and absorb any extra oil.

Set aside.

How to fry the cuttlefish.

Place a medium-sized deep frying pan over a low-medium fire.
Pour in the oil, and gradually heat the oil.

To check if the oil has reached the frying temperature you need, simply place a wooden stick, if you see bubbles forming around it, your oil is ready to fry.

Once your oil is ready, add 2 or 3 pieces of the cuttlefish into the prepared cornflour.

Coat the Cuttlefish thoroughly, and shake off the excess flour.

Add the coated cuttlefish to the oil.

Fry the cuttlefish until they turn golden brown.
If you are making the batter-fried cuttlefish for the first time, start with a few pieces and then move on to frying in small batches.

Keep in mind that it only takes a second to burn them so you need to keep an eye on them.

Avoid the oil from smoking and regulate the heat by reducing and increasing the heat from the stove as you need.

Place them on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Continue to fry them until all the cuttlefish have been fried and placed in the bowl to drain excess oil.

How to make the hot butter sauce for the cuttlefish.

Place a large frying pan over low heat and add the butter(1/2 a cup).

As the butter melts, add the minced garlic(1 and 1/2 tbsp).

Cook for 30 seconds over low heat. then add the chilli paste(1 and 1/2 tbsp).
Read beginner’s notes for chilli paste substitute.

Constantly stir while cooking the chillie paste over low heat.

You can add sugar(1 tbsp, optional)to give it a sweeter taste.

When the chillie paste butter sauce is ready, add the fried cuttlefish.

Combine well with the chillie paste.

Add the scallions and mix.

Serve hot butter cuttlefish warm with lime wedges.

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Yield: 3

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

To make the hot butter cuttlefish,

you first coat them in a mix of cornflour and spice and then deep fry them.

Once they are fried until crispy and golden, the fried cuttlefish/calamari is added into a spicy hot garlic butter sauce.

You will simply love the crunch and buttery flavor of this cuttlefish/calamari stir-fry with a little bit of lime juice on it.

Ingredients

• 500g of cuttlefish/calamari
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup of cornflour
• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 cups of oil
• A bundle of spring onions(these could be 5-7 individual stalks)
• 1/2 a cup of butter
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic(about 4-5 garlic pods minced)
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of chilli paste
• 1 tablespoon of sugar(optional to give a little sweet and spicy element to it)

Instructions

1. Have all the other ingredients ready and prepped to make the hot butter cuttlefish.
2. For this hot butter cuttlefish recipe, I’m using cleaned and frozen calamari as it saves so much time as well as time spent on cleaning my chopping boards.
3. But if you are using fresh cuttlefish or calamari, use the instruction given above on a beginner’s note on how to do it.

How to cut the cuttlefish to batter fry them.

1. Once cleaned, cut them into rings or as shown below into rectangular strips.
2. The important part is to have thin slits on them.
3. I have shown them in the image below.

How to wash the cuttlefish.

1. Once you’ve cut them as shown or described above, place them in a bowl.
2. Add 1/4 turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
3. Rub into the cuttlefish and then thoroughly wash the pieces in running water to get rid of the smell and slippery texture.
4. You will have to wash 2-3 times before placing the cuttlefish pieces in a colander or large sieve to drain all excess water.

How to marinate the cuttlefish.

1. Once you’ve drained all excess water, place them in a large bowl.
2. Add salt(1 tsp)and combine, I would suggest using a spoon or disposable gloves. the smell despite washing can still get into your hands.
3. Add the egg white(from 1 egg)into the cuttlefish pieces and combine well.
4. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.
5. And move on to preparing the batter mixture to coat the cuttlefish.

How to batter coat the cuttlefish.

1. Add cornflour(1 cup), salt(1/2 tsp), pepper(1 tsp), turmeric(1/4 tsp) into a separate bowl.
2. Combine.
3. Have a large bowl covered in paper kitchen towels ready. this will hold the fried cuttlefish and absorb any extra oil.
4. Set aside.

How to fry the cuttlefish.

1. Place a medium-sized deep frying pan over a low-medium fire.
2. Pour in the oil, and gradually heat the oil.
3. To check if the oil has reached the frying temperature you need, simply place a wooden stick, if you see bubbles forming around it, your oil is ready to fry.
4. Once your oil is ready, add 2 or 3 pieces of the cuttlefish into the prepared cornflour.
5. Coat the Cuttlefish thoroughly, and shake off the excess flour.
6. Add the coated cuttlefish to the oil.
7. Fry the cuttlefish until they turn golden brown.
8. If you are making the batter-fried cuttlefish for the first time, start with a few pieces and then move on to frying in small batches.
9. Keep in mind that it only takes a second to burn them so you need to keep an eye on them.
10. Avoid the oil from smoking and regulate the heat by reducing and increasing the heat from the stove as you need.
11. Place them on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
12. Continue to fry them until all the cuttlefish have been fried and placed in the bowl to drain excess oil.
13. Once you’ve fried all the cuttlefish,

How to make the hot butter sauce for the cuttlefish.

1. Place a large frying pan over low heat and add the butter(1/2 a cup).
2. As the butter melts, add the minced garlic(1 and 1/2 tbsp).
3. Cook for 30 seconds over low heat. then add the chillie paste(1 and 1/2 tbsp). Read beginner’s notes for chilli paste substitute.
4. Constantly stir while cooking the chillie paste over low heat. you can add sugar(1 tbsp, optional)here to give it a sweeter taste.
5. When the chillie paste butter sauce is ready, add the fried cuttlefish.
6. Combine well with the chillie paste.
7. Add the scallions and mix.
8. Serve hot butter cuttlefish warm with lime wedges.

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