Basic Squid Spice Curry, made with SN2

Once you have SN2 in hand, this Basic Squid Spice Curry is the first thing to make.

SPICE CURRY SPICE PACK (Spice Curry Spice Pack Symphony No.2 / SN2) makes this Basic Squid Spice Curry.

When your spice curry turns out watery Thinking about the chicken skin in a chicken curry Are the whole spices in the starter bag meant to be eaten? Which spice do you add when you want more heat?

Ingredients (serves 4)

• SN2 / starter spices (the bag of whole spices): 1 bag
• SN2 / powder spices (the bag of ground spices): 1 bag
• Canned tomatoes (whole): 400g
• Onion: 1
• Garlic: 10g grated (roughly 1–2 cloves)
• Ginger (grated): 1 tbsp
• Squid: about 500g
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Salt: 1 tsp
• Soy sauce: 1 tbsp
• Balsamic vinegar: 1 tbsp (ordinary vinegar also works)
• Mirin (sweet rice seasoning): 2 tsp
• Oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you prefer; for this recipe we suggest white sesame oil)
• Water: 200ml

We use the sort of balsamic vinegar you find in any supermarket for around 500 yen. For this recipe an affordable bottle seems to sit better than a luxurious one. For the squid, use one in season and, ideally, a whole one — the depth of flavour is on another level. If it still has its innards, adding those as well gives the sauce real body. Here is a guide to cleaning squid.

Preparation

• Clean the squid and slice it as you like.
• Slice the onion.
  
  

Method

1. Pour 3 tbsp of oil into a pan, add the starter spices (the bag of whole spices), then set it over low heat.
   
   
2. Once the mustard seeds (the small black ones) start to pop, add the grated garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring them through the spices.
   
   
3. Add the onion, stir it through, then turn the heat to high and cook for about 12 minutes until amber, splashing in water as you go.
   
   

   How far you cook the onion changes the finished dish more than anything else. “It came out watery”, “the tomato tastes too sharp”, “it lacks depth” — the single biggest cause of all three is moving on to the next step before the onion has gone amber. For this Basic Squid Spice Curry, cook it for a full 12 to 15 minutes and keep going until it is properly amber. The points are: keep the heat at medium to high spread the onion evenly in the pan and leave it, then stir; spread it evenly and leave it again, then stir — and repeat whenever you stir and feel something catching on the base of the pan, splash in a little water (in our experience, about 2 tbsp of water each time, roughly five times in all) Splashing in water carries the savour the onion releases through the whole pan and keeps it from catching while it turns amber. Letting it colour just enough to need a splash of water is, if anything, exactly what draws the flavour out. It takes a little time and attention, but it is the step that decides the result, so give it the care it needs.

   
   
   
4. Once the onion is amber, lower the heat, add the canned tomatoes (whole) and crush the whole tomatoes as you stir them in.
   
   
5. When the tomatoes come to a gentle simmer, add all of the sugar: 2 tsp, salt: 1 tsp, soy sauce: 1 tbsp, balsamic vinegar: 1 tbsp, mirin: 2 tsp, water: 200ml and powder spices, stirring as though cooking the powder itself through, then simmer for about 5 minutes.
   
   
6. Add the squid, stir it through and simmer for about 3 minutes.
   
   

   Overcooked squid turns tough and loses its flavour. Always add it at this final step, simmer for about 3 minutes and take the pan off the heat.

7. Taste, adjust the salt and it is done.

Coriander, sliced onion or celery leaves scattered over the top taste superb and make the plate look livelier.

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the chilli, cayenne or red pepper that usually carries the heat, so add as much as you like to suit your taste.