Noodles & Squid

Watching Bobby Flay make pasta with squid ink sauce in one of his Throwdown episodes made me smile because I’ve done something like that back in the day when I haven’t realized yet that I’m a foodie. And my version was just inspired by a restaurant scene in one of the novels I read long time ago. I’ve experimented on some concoctions inspired by stuff I read – no actual recipe; just descriptions of what the characters are eating in certain scenes; whatever arouses my curiosity and provokes some cravings. Squid goes well with noodles too. I heard about it while dining with relatives so I gave it a try. I used mung bean noodles which I soaked in hot water for fifteen minutes then drained while I cook my squid adobo style, making sure not to disturb the ink sac- that is done when the sauce is reduced and you're ready to pop the sac for ink which makes the dish so delicious. For me, squid should be swimming in black ink if it's not fried or I can't enjoy it. Squid like shrimp and other seafood should not be cooked longer than necessary because it has the tendency to become hard and rubbery as well. Squid has a lot of water in it that comes out once you start cooking them. So after seasoning with salt and pepper and sautéing it in garlic and onion, and the broth starts coming out- take them out of the pan and allow the broth to reduce in half. Then add the softened noodles and the squid and just let the noodles cook and make sure they are well coated with the sauce but not soggy. You can drizzle it with olive oil and garnish with scallions before serving.