BBQ Calamari with Spicy Yuzu Sauce - by Ocha

Ingredients

6 pieces whole baby calamari, cleaned, rinsed in salted water
Chard leaves, to garnish
1 bunch chives, finely chopped
Aonori (toasted, ground, green nori)
Spicy yuzu butter
125g salted butter
5g garlic, finely minced
4g yuzu kosho (paste made from fermenting yuzu, salt and chilli)
Light soy, to taste
10g wasabi paste
Pinch of ground black pepper
Lemon juice, to taste

Method

Spicy Yuzu Butter:

Melt butter in pan, add garlic and slowly heat on low heat for 5 minutes. Add yuzu kosho, light soy, wasabi, black pepper and lemon juice, stirring well. Set aside.

To Serve:

Heat char grill, BBQ or hot pan until very hot and brush with olive oil. Brush calamari with olive oil before cooking. Grill 2 minutes each side. If using a chargrill, change directions after 1 minute to create a criss-cross pattern.

Slice calamari across the body at approximately 0.5cm intervals. Reheat butter sauce and spoon over calamari. Garnish with chard leaves before sprinkling calamari with chives and aonori.

Chef's Tip:

Yuzu kosho and aonori are both available from Japanese grocery stores. The sauce can be used for just about any other seafood. You can also cook the seafood in the oven instead of grilling – just making sure you don’t overcook it.

Recipe provided by Ocha

Photo Credits: Flavours of Urban Melbourne by Smudge Publishing RRP $80