This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Squid as food" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |




Squid is eaten in many cuisines; in English, theculinary namecalamari is often used forsquid dishes.[1] There are many ways to prepare and cook squid. Fried squid is commonin the Mediterranean. In New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, and South Africa, it is sold infish and chip shops and in steakhouses. In Britain, it can be found in Mediterranean "calamari" or Asian "salt and pepper fried squid" forms in various establishments, often served as a bar snack,street food, or starter.
Squid can be prepared for consumption in a number of other ways. In Korea and Japan, it is sometimes served raw, and elsewhere it is used assushi,sashimi andtempura items, grilled, stuffed, covered in batter, stewed in gravy and served in stir-fries, rice, and noodle dishes.Dried shredded squid is a common snack in some Asian regions, includingEast Asia.
The body (mantle), arms, tentacles, andink of squid are all edible; the only parts of the squid that are not eaten are itsbeak andgladius (pen). The mantle can be stuffed whole, cut into flat pieces or sliced into rings.
InChinese andSoutheast Asian cuisine, squid is used in stir-fries, rice, and noodle dishes. It may be heavily spiced.
InChina,Thailand, andJapan, squid is typicallygrilled whole and sold in food stalls.
Pre-packageddried shredded squid or cuttlefish are snack items inHong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China and Russia, often shredded or rolled to reduce chewiness.
In Japan, squid is used in almost every type of dish, includingsushi,sashimi, andtempura. It can also be marinated in soy sauce (ika okizuke), stewed (nabemono), and grilled (ikayaki). It is eaten raw asika sōmen andkatsu ika odori-don.
InKorea, squid is sometimes killed and served quickly. Unlike octopus, squid tentacles do not usually continue to move when reaching the table. This fresh squid is 산 오징어 (san ojingeo) (also with small octopuses callednakji). The squid is served with Korean mustard, soy sauce, chili sauce, or sesame sauce. It is salted and wrapped inlettuce orperilla leaves. Squid is also marinated in hot pepper sauce and cooked on a pan (nakji bokum orojingeo bokum/ojingeo-chae-bokkeum). They are also served by food stands as a snack food, battered and deep fried or grilled using hot skillets. They are also cut up into small pieces to be added to 해물파전 (Korean seafood pancake) or a variety of spicy seafood soups. Dried squid may also accompany alcoholic beverages asanju. Dried squid is served with peanuts. Squid is roasted and served with hot pepper paste or mayonnaise as a dip. Steamed squid and boiled squid are delicacies.
Also in Korea, squid is made intojeotgal (salted seafood). Theojingeo-jeot, thin strips of skinned, gutted, washed, salted, and fermented squid seasoned with spicygochugaru (chili powder)-based spices and minced aromatic vegetables, is a popularbanchan (side dish) served in small quantities as an accompaniment tobap (cooked rice). In Japan, a similar dish is calledika-no-shiokara. The heavily salted squid (usuallysparkling enope (firefly) squid orspear squid), sometimes with innards, ferments for as long as a month, and is preserved in small jars. This salty, strong flavoured item is served in small quantities as an accompaniment to white rice oralcoholic beverages.
In thePhilippines, squid is cooked asadobong pusit, squid in adobo sauce, along with the ink, imparting a tangy flavour, especially with fresh chillies. Battered squid rings, which is also sold as a popular deep-fried street food calledcalamares in the Philippines, is served with alioli, mayonnaise or chilli vinegar. Squid is grilled on charcoal, brushed with a soy sauce-based marinade, and stuffed with tomato and onions. Another recipe isrellenong pusit, stuffed with finely-chopped vegetables, squid fat, and ground pork. A variant ofpancit noodles ispancit pusit, which ispancit bihon with squid added, along with the ink, giving the noodles its dark color.
InThailand, squid is a common protein source added to a variety of soup and stir-fry dishes in fresh form, often as a part of a medley with shrimp, and referred to astalay (ทะเล). In addition,shredded and rolled dried squid is a common snack food found in supermarkets and night markets across the country, often served with aNam chim (น้ำจิ้ม) dipping sauce. Domestically-landedLoligo squid fished from theGulf of Thailand and theAndaman Sea are the most commonly featured species in each preparation.[2]
InIndia andSri Lanka, squid or cuttlefish is eaten in coastal areas such asKerala andTamil Nadu. Squid are eaten deep-fried (koonthal fry) or as squid gravy (koonthal varattiyathu/roast). In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, squid is calledkoonthal,kanava orkadamba. In coastal Karnataka, squid is also calledbondaas.
InEgypt,Cyprus, andTurkey, squid rings and arms are coated in batter and fried in oil. Other recipes from these regions simmer squid with vegetables.[3] Squid is also often stuffed.
In Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey, fried squid is served withtarator, a sauce made using tahini. Like many seafood dishes, it may be served with a slice of lemon.
Fried squid (calamari fritti) is a dish inMediterranean cuisine, consisting ofbatter-coated, deep-fried squid (fried for less than two minutes to prevent toughness), which is served plain, with salt and lemon on the side.
InSpain,rabas orcalamares a la romana (battered calamari, lit. 'Roman-style calamari') has the calamari rings covered in a thick batter, deep-fried, and served with lemon juice and mayonnaise oraioli. Traditionally inCantabria and theBasque Country,rabas are cut into straight strips rather than rings.[4] Battered and fried baby squid is known aspuntillitas. Squid stewed in its own black ink is calledcalamares en su tinta orchipirones en su tinta, resulting in a black stew-like dish in which squid meat is very tender and is accompanied by a thick black sauce, usually made with onion, tomato and squid ink, among other ingredients.
In Spain andItaly, squid or cuttlefish ink is eaten in dishes such aspaella,risotto,soups andpasta.
In Spain, Italy,Greece,Cyprus,Turkey,Portugal,Slovenia,Albania andCroatia, squid rings and arms are coated in batter and fried in oil. Other recipes from these regions feature squid (oroctopus) simmered slowly, with vegetables such as squash or tomato. When frying, the squid flesh is kept tender due to a short cooking time; when simmering, the flesh is most tender when cooking is prolonged with reduced temperature. InGreece orCyprus it is served also withtzatziki, a Greek yoghurt, cucumber and mint dip.
InSardinia, squid are served with a sauce made from lemon, garlic, parsley, and olive oil.
InPortugal,lulas are commonly eaten grilled whole, in kebabs ("espetadas") of squid rings with bell peppers and onion, or stewed, stuffed with minced meat (lulas recheadas); the battered version is known aslulas à sevilhana, named afterSeville, the Andalusian city that popularised the dish. The city ofSetúbal is also known for its friedcuttlefish (choco frito à setubalense).[5]
InMalta,klamar mimli involves stuffing the squid with rice, breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic and capers and then gently stewing in red wine.
InSlovenia, squid are eaten grilled and stuffed withpršut and cheese, withblitva (Swiss chard).
InRussia, a lightly boiledjulienned squid with onion rings, garnished with mayonnaise, makes a salad. Another dish is asquid stuffed with rice and vegetables and then roasted.
InSouth Africa,Australia andNew Zealand, fried calamari is popular infish and chip shops; imitation calamari ofwhitefish may also be used.
In North America, fried squid is a staple in seafood restaurants. It is served as anappetizer, garnished withparsley, or sprinkled with Italian-styleparmesan cheese. It is served with dips:peppercornmayonnaise,tzatziki,marinara sauce,tartar sauce, orcocktail sauce. InMexico it is served with local hot sauce. Other dips, such asketchup,aioli, and olive oil are used. In the United States, the government and industry worked together to popularize calamari consumption in the 1990s.[6]
In the United States, in an attempt to popularize squid as a protein source in the 1970s, researchers atMassachusetts Institute of Technology developed a squid-gutting machine, and submittedsquid cocktail, rings, andchowder to a 70-person tasting panel for market research.[7][8] Despite a general lack of popularity of squid in the United States, as aside from the internal "ethnic market" polling had shown a negative public perception of squid foods,[9] the tasting panel gave the dishes "high marks".[10][11]
During the2020 Democratic National Convention, calamari was featured prominently during the virtual roll call for the state ofRhode Island.[12]
The English namecalamari comes from the Italiancalamari (plural ofcalamaro), Spanishcalamares (plural ofcalamar), and Modern Greekκαλαμάριkalamári.[1] Ultimately, all of these terms derive from theLate Latincalamarium, "pen case" or "ink pot", itself from theLatincalamarius, "pertaining to a writing-reed", after the resemblance in shape and the inky fluid thatsquid secrete;calamarius in turn derives from the Greekκάλαμοςkalamos 'reed' or 'pen'.[1][13][14][15][16][17]
The nutritional value of squid compares favorably with fish, being high in protein and phosphorus with trace amounts of calcium, thiamine, and riboflavin.[18] Squid are 67.5–80.7% protein and 2.22–8.48% fat.[19] A 2016 study ofloligo squid found that 13% of the wet weight was oil, which is a rich source ofomega-3 andomega-6 fatty acids (2.78%arachidonic acid, 3.10%linolenic acid, 5.20%linoleic acid, 15.40%docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and 9.60%eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)).[20]
Allergies to calamari can occur.[21] As with othermolluscs, theallergen is usuallytropomyosin.[22]