Tips

How to Clean Ink Tubes and Octopus, No More Odor

Properly processing helps not only keep dishes made from squid and octopus fresh and delicious but also significantly removes their fishy smell.

Administrator

14 February, 2024

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One of the challenges that many people face when cooking squid or octopus is how to clean them properly without making them fishy. The following tips will help you handle these seafood items quickly and easily.

Properly Clean Squid

To keep squid crispy and firm when cooking, you need to choose fresh squid.

Tips for buying fresh squid

Observe the color of the squid: Fresh squid will have a shiny color. The brown color will be dark brown, while the squid body will be milky white like milk.

When touching the body of the squid, you will feel the firmness of the meat and high elasticity. When pressing your finger on the squid body, it will quickly return to its original state without leaving any indentations.

The color of the squid’s eye should be transparent, not bulging, and you can see the eye clearly without it being yellow or watery. If the squid is not fresh, the eyes will turn cloudy and sometimes have a discharge.

Fresh squid means that the head and tentacles of the squid stick tightly together. If the squid is not fresh, these parts will usually be soft and easy to separate.

Tips for choosing and cleaning squid

Fresh squid is usually chewy, crispy, and sweet, so it needs to be properly prepared to avoid becoming mushy and to preserve its natural nutrients. To clean this type of seafood, you need to follow these cleaning steps:

Step 1: Remove the head and tentacles of the squid

To clean the squid, first rinse it under clean water. Then, hold the tentacles tightly and pull them out of the body of the squid. When you pull it out completely, the guts and ink sac will also be pulled out. Be careful at this step because if you are careless and the ink sac bursts, the squid will turn black and taste bitter.

In case the ink sac bursts, be careful to quickly flush the squid with water and continue with the steps below.

Step 2: Remove the squid’s eyes

Use a knife to cut off the squid’s eyes and the hard circular block in the middle of the squid’s head (called the beak), and squeeze them out with your hand.

Step 3: Peel off the squid’s skin

Using a sharp knife, make a gentle cut along the head of the squid to create a groove between the skin and the meat. Hold the meat tightly with one hand and hold the squid’s skin firmly with the other hand, then pull it up.

Step 4: Clean the inside of the squid’s body

After removing the guts, ink sac, and tentacles from the body, continue to remove the squid’s backbone. The squid’s backbone is large, white bones that are easily visible.

Continue to use a knife to cut a vertical line on the surface of the squid’s body, then spread it out. Remove any remaining internal organs and rinse them with water.

Properly Clean Octopus

When buying octopus, make sure to choose fresh octopus. This will make the preparation easier and, of course, the dish will be more attractive and hygienic.

Tips for buying fresh octopus

Choose octopus with bright, clear eyes. The stomach of the octopus should be bright white, and avoid buying if the stomach is pale white as this means the octopus has been soaked in water.

When buying octopus in a tank, choose ones that move quickly and flexibly.

Feel the body to ensure it is firm and the meat is not mushy or watery.

Check the back skin of the octopus to ensure it is smooth and shiny.

If you choose frozen octopus, pay attention to the color of the back skin, which should be grayish brown with a greenish tint. The lower abdomen should be bright white (frozen octopus that has been stored for a long time will turn milky white and be less delicious). The octopus skin should be smooth and not swollen. The eyes of the octopus should be clear, avoiding ones with cloudy eyes.

Tips for choosing and cleaning octopus

When you bring the octopus home, follow the steps below to ensure that your dish is not fishy and has the best flavor:

Step 1: Clean the octopus

After purchasing, rinse the octopus thoroughly. If you buy frozen octopus, it is best to thaw it before rinsing it with clean water. After rinsing, cut off the tentacles and set them aside for convenience.

Step 2: Remove the internal organs of the octopus

When holding an octopus in your hand, you need to determine the head and the tentacles.

Use a small knife or scissors to make a cut behind the membrane, just inside the position below the head of the octopus. Turn the head inside out through this cut and remove the internal organs (if they are too small, gently tear them off).

Step 3: Tenderize the octopus with salt and lemon juice

Thoroughly massage the octopus with salt and lemon juice to remove the slime. In addition to this method, you can also use guava leaves to wash the octopus or use vinegar and white wine with a crushed ginger branch to eliminate the fishy smell.

Step 4: Rinse and cut the octopus

After massaging with salt, rinse the octopus with 2-3 changes of water, then let it drain. Cut the head of the octopus separately and then cut it into small rings or leave it whole, depending on the type of dish you are making. Cut the octopus legs into bite-sized pieces.