Squid Ink Pasta Recipe by Chef Gary Chang

Squid Ink Pasta Recipe

The Yum List asked chefs around Kuala Lumpur what’s cooking in their kitchens during Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO). Today, Chef Gary Chang from Champignons shares his recipe for Squid Ink Pasta with Seafood.

Squid Ink Pasta with Market Seafood

This recipe sees al dente squid ink spaghetti braised in a rich seafood sauce with tomato, Parmesan cheese and a touch of spice from chilli flakes. Finished off with fresh lemon zest and basil, it’s delicious!

We created this recipe during the pre-opening of Champignons. We cooked and tried more than 50 versions to get this dish just right. We tried more than 10 types of pasta to find the best texture and flavour. Then we wanted to create a special sauce to meet the local customers’ taste. That’s where the idea of chilli came from. We use every single bit of the ingredients such as prawn shells to make prawn stock for the seafood sauce. We finish the dish with Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and basil to give richness and the fresh aroma to the dish. These are the first things you sense when the plate is delivered! Bon Appetit!

Squid Ink Pasta Recipe

For 1 serving

Ingredients

2tbsp     Olive oil
2 tbsp    Chopped onion
1tbsp     Chopped garlic
½ tsp     Chilli flakes

3pcs      Prawns
30gms   Squid rings
30gms   Salmon, diced
3pcs      Black mussels

3pcs       Cherry tomatoes
2tbsp      Diced zucchini
2pcs       Sliced mushrooms

100ml     Prawn stock
50 ml      Water
1tbsp      Tomato sauce
Pinch      Salt

150gms   Squid ink pasta – spaghetti (boiled in salted water for 3.5minutes)
4              Cubes butter
1 stalk      Basil
2 tbsp      Grated Parmesan cheese, keep a pinch for garnish
Lemon zest

Method

1. Medium heat a pan with some olive oil. Sweat garlic, onion and chilli flakes.
2. Add seafood to the pan and sear until half cooked (seafood starts to turn white or curl).
3. Add in diced zucchini, sliced mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Gently stir until the vegetables begin to become transparent.
4. Pour in the prawn stock, pasta water and tomato sauce to boil. Season with salt to taste.
5. Once the sauce is boiling, add in the squid ink spaghetti to cook. Now the flavour of seafood will go into the pasta.
6. Stir. When the liquid has reduced by half, add in grated Parmesan cheese and butter to emulsify.
7. Keep stirring or flipping the pan. You will see the liquid reduce and become thicker by an emulsion of cheese and butter.
8. Finally, season with salt and remove from the heat.
9. Put your squid ink spaghetti on a plate. Garnish with lemon zest, grated Parmesan cheese and a chiffonade of fresh basil.

To make your own stock

Peel the prawn shells and heads then rinse with water. Put the prawn shell and heads into a saucepan. Crush the prawn heads with a spoon then cover with water and add a pinch of salt. Bring it to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and keep aside.
*You can make this prawn stock whenever you have prawns. Prawn stock keeps in the freezer, and you may use it whenever you need.

Find more recipes by KL chefs, such as this one for Squid Ink Pasta, here. And, stay up to date with what’s happening on the KL food and beverage scene here.