Japanese Grilled Squid (Ikayaki)

Ingredients

• 500g whole squid (cleaned)
• 2 tsp fresh ginger (grated)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp aka miso (red miso paste)
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp sansho pepper (Japanese pepper, and more to serve)
• Lemon wedges (to serve)

Tools

• Grill plate (optional)

Directions

To Prep

1. To prepare the marinade, combine soy sauce, aka miso, mirin, sake, ginger and sancho pepper in a large bowl, and mix well.
2. Add in the squid, and spoon the marinade over to coat well. Set aside to marinate for 15 mins.
3. When it’s time to cook, separate squid from the liquids, but reserve the marinade for later use.

To Cook

1. Cooking on a grill plate: Heat a well-oiled grill plate over stovetop. When grill plate is hot, place squid on the grill to cook for about 12-15 mins, turning occasionally, and glazing the squid with marinade. Cooking time will vary a little according to the size of the squid.
2. Cooking on a pan: Heat a well-oiled pan over medium-high heat. Add squid to cook on pan for about 4-5 mins on each side, turning occasionally. Add the marinade and cook a further 1-2 mins until the sauce thickens.
3. To serve, slice the squid into rings and place on serving plate. Add a dash of sansho before serving, and a lemon wedge on the side.
4. Squeeze lemon over hot squid and enjoy ikayaki with a cold beer!