Garlic and chilli cuttlefish with BBQ milk bread

The cuttlefish absorbs the chilli right up for a spicy dish accompanied with a soy butter and soft bread.

Credit: Adam Liaw

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 loaf milk bread, cut into 2 cm–thick slices
• olive oil, for drizzling
• 200 ml grapeseed oil
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 8 cuttlefish tubes, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 150 g (1 cup) plain flour
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 bunch bok choy, chopped into 2-3 cm pieces
• 1 bunch flat–leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
• black sesame seeds, to garnish

Soy butter

• 200 g butter, softened
• 50 ml soy sauce
• lemon juice, to taste

Instructions

1. For the soy butter, using hand-held electric beaters, whip the butter until light and fluffy. Add the soy sauce and lemon juice to taste and beat until well combined.
2. Heat a chargrill pan over high heat. Lightly brush the bread slices with oil and chargrill on both sides or until golden and lightly charred.
3. Meanwhile, heat the grapeseed oil and sesame oil in a large frying pan over high heat until very hot. Place the sliced cuttlefish in a large bowl, add the flour and toss to coat, then transfer to a sieve and dust off the excess.
4. Add the garlic and chilli to the hot oil, followed immediately by the cuttlefish. Cook for 1 minute or until the cuttlefish is just cooked. Add the lemon juice and fish sauce and toss to combine. Add the bok choy and cook for another 30 seconds or until just softened. Add the herbs, toss to coat and transfer to a serving plate.
5. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and serve with the BBQ milk bread and soy butter.

 

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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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.