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I was at a Sushi restaurant in San Diego today and ordered some squid nigiri. Although it had been roughly scored with a knife, it was still quite chewy. I'm assuming it was yari-ika.

Is there a way to prepare squid for nigiri that's less rubbery?

Rodrigo de Azevedo
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clone45
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  • I don't know if this would work for raw preparations, or for squid ... but there was a [Serious Eats article on octopus](https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/06/how-to-make-pulpo-gallego-spanish-galicia-octopus-tapas.html) that recommended freezing it. – Joe May 04 '18 at 19:22
  • I also saw a quote on reddit that said, "Edomae places age squid 2-3 days to tenderize". I may dig into this suggestion further. – clone45 May 05 '18 at 01:27

1 Answers1

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Squid gets rubbery when overcooked and it happens really fast, so you should just blanch it for just a few seconds and immediately cool it in icy water. I used to score the squid on the outside (with a criss-cross pattern, not too deep) to prevent it from warping during the cooking process. It also adds a nice texture.

Luciano
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  • I'm un-accepting this answer until I have more proof that this is the correct answer. I just discussed this with the sushi chef at Otoro Sushi in San Francisco (and sampled their Ika nigiri), and he said that they serve it raw, which is why it is so tender. – clone45 May 05 '18 at 02:40