Ellie Bullen’s new cookbook The Global Vegan contains more than 100 plant-based recipes from all around the world. Here she shares her Salt and Pepper Kalamari Recipe with The Carousel.
“The konjac plant is mostly cultivated in South East Asia and you will typically find it at Asian supermarkets,” Ellie explains. “It is very high in fibre and low in calories and you will often see it sold as low-calorie konjac noodles in supermarkets. The noodles have a chewy, gelatinous texture, which makes them a great substitute for squid.”
Serves 2
Ingredients:
160 g thick konjac noodles, cut into 3 cm lengths 45 g tapioca flour
3⁄12 tablespoons soy milk or water
3⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ⁄12 teaspoon onion powder
60 g (1 cup) panko breadcrumbs
1–4 tablespoons avocado oil
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
35 g (1 cup) rocket
large handful of snow pea sprouts
125 ml (⁄12 cup) Sriracha Mayo lemon wedges, to serve
Method:
You can bake or pan-fry the konjac kalamari.
If baking, preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Place the konjac noodles in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the tapioca flour, soy milk or water, salt, pepper and onion powder. Place the breadcrumbs in a third bowl.
Add the konjac noodles to the bowl with the tapioca flour mixture and toss through until well coated. Transfer to the breadcrumb bowl and toss to evenly coat the noodles.
If you are baking the kalamari, transfer the noodles to the prepared tray and drizzle over 1–2 tablespoons of oil. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and crunchy.
If you are frying the kalamari, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan or wok. Add half the kalamari and pan-fry for 4 minutes or until golden on all sides. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel, then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and repeat with the remaining kalamari.
Sprinkle the chilli flakes over the kalamari and serve with the rocket, snow pea sprouts, sriracha mayo and lemon wedges on the side.
‘The Global Vegan by Ellie Bullen, Published by Plum, RRP $34.99, Photography by Ellie Bullen’
