Method

Make the sweet and sour dipping sauce before you fry the calamari so that the flavours can infuse. Combine the rice wine vinegar, chilli, garlic, brown sugar and spring onions and leave aside until ready to serve.

Place a small saucepan over a high heat and add the canola oil. While the oil is heating you can make the tempura batter. (The fresher the batter, the lighter and crunchier it’ll be.) Whisk together the egg and soda water until combined and add it to a mixing bowl with the flour, chilli flakes and sea salt to make a batter.

To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a teaspoon of batter into the oil. If it puffs up and sizzles, it’s ready.

Pat the calamari dry with a kitchen towel and dip batches of it into the batter to coat. Fry in the hot oil for 2-3 minutes until golden, puffed up and cooked through. Remove the tempura calamari with a slotted spoon and drain on a kitchen towel. Scatter over sea salt while the calamari is still hot and serve with the sweet and sour dipping sauce and wedges of lemon.

Recipe by Hannah Lewry, courtesy City Press iMagazine.