Thai-style Squid Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1 small hot chile, minced (see note), or 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 pound cleaned squid sacs and tentacles

Instructions

1. In a salad bowl, stir together the lime juice, sugar, ginger, salt, and 3 tablespoons water.  Add the bell pepper, scallions, chile, mint, cilantro, and basil.
2. Cut the squid sacs into 1/4-inch rings and halve the tentacles.  In a saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the squid for 1 minute until opaque and tender.  (Overcooking as little as 30 seconds will toughen the squid.)  Drain immediately and add to the herb mixture.  Toss the salad and let stand for 30 mintues at room temperature before serving.  The salad can be kept, chilled and covered, up to 2 days.

Note:  a small, thin red Thai chile can be used in this salad, but a Serrano or jalapeno is a good substitute.  Beware that most of the “heat” in a chile is in the seeds, and varies in intensity from chile to chile.  Mince a whole chile, seeds and all, and add a little bit at a time until the salad has reached the desired spiciness.

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