BBQ squid with nam prik talay

Phuket’s coastal cuisine is known for its high-quality seafood. Nam prik talay is a dipping sauce commonly paired with food shared all around the island. This version adds coconut cream, transforming it into a rich, creamy accompaniment for the barbecued squid.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 600 g squid tubes, cleaned
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Salt and white pepper
• Holy basil leaves, Vietnamese mint leaves, roasted shredded coconut, thinly sliced eschallot, thinly sliced red chilli, chilli crisp oil (see Note), to serve

Nam prik talay (makes extra)

• 25 g coriander root, cleaned
• 35 g garlic cloves
• 50 g long red chilli, deseeded, roughly chopped
• 50 g palm sugar
• 50 g fish sauce
• 50 g lime juice
• 250 g coconut cream

Standing time: 15 minutes.

Instructions

1. For the nam prik talay, in a mortar and pestle, pound the coriander root and garlic to a fine paste then remove from the mortar.
2. Next, pound the chilli, add the palm sugar and pound to form a paste. Return the garlic and coriander paste to the mortar and let stand for 15 minutes to infuse. Stir through the fish sauce, lime juice and coconut cream and set aside until ready to serve.
3. Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue over medium-high heat. Keeping the squid tube in a single piece, make a small cut down one side, then open the squid tube flat. Remove any remaining guts, then score the inside of the squid, taking care not to cut all the way through. Drizzle the squid on both sides with oil, then season well with salt and white pepper.
4. Grill the squid, scored-side down, for 1 minute, or until lightly charred. Turn and cook for a further 30 seconds, then remove from the heat.
5. Cut the grilled squid into triangles. Spoon the nam prik talay onto a large serving bowl, then top with the squid, fresh herbs, coconut, eschallot and the chilli. Spoon over a little chilli crisp oil and serve.

Note

Chilli crisp oil, also known as chilli crisp and crispy chilli oil, is available in supermarkets.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.