COPYCAT WAGAMAMA’S VEGAN CHILLI SQUID

Recently, I was horrified to find out that Wagamama’s had removed their vegan chilli squid off the menu. It gave me no option to make a copycat recipe. The original used king oyster mushrooms and even though I adore them, they are pricey. I opted to use aubergines in my version as they are way cheaper and are sold in every supermarket. Plus they also give that meaty texture which we are looking for. If you can't find rice flour then potato starch or cornflour will also do the job.

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COPYCAT WAGAMAMA’S VEGAN CHILLI SQUID

SERVES:4 MADE IN: 1 hr /DIFFICULTY:Easy/medium / VEGAN

INGREDIENTS

4 aubergines

1 nori sheet, ripped into pieces

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1cm knob of ginger or 1 tsp ginger paste

75g rice flour

75g plain flour

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp white pepper

½ tsp baking powder

300ml vegetable oil

For the sweet and spicy sauce:

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp agave

2 tbsp tamarind

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 red chill, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp roasted white sesame seeds

METHOD

1. Peel the aubergines and then cut them in half horizontally. Then portion each piece into about 1cm thick/6cm long chips. Submerge the aubergine pieces into lemon water to prevent them from browning.

2. Fill a large saucepan with water and add the garlic cloves, ginger and nori pieces. Season with salt and bring to a gentle boil. Tip in the aubergine chips and cook for 2-3 minutes or until you can push a knife through but there is a slight residence. Drain and pat dry the cooked aubergine. Set aside.

3. In a bowl, mix in the flours, baking powder, garlic powder, 5 spice, cayenne, brown sugar, salt and pepper before pouring in 15ml oil and 190ml cold water. Stir until the batter is lump free.

4. Pour the remaining oil into a large frying pan and bring the temperature to 180c. If you don't have a thermometer, drop a little bit of the batter into the oil to see it sizzles and floats to the top.

5. Coat the aubergine chips into the batter and in batches, fry them in th oil for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Place the chilli squid onto kitchen roll to remove any excess oil. Sprinkle with some sea salt flakes. Repeat this until all the chips and batter are used.

6. Add all the sweet and spicy sauce to a bowl and mix well.

7. Transfer the vegan chilli squid into a sharing bowl and top with sliced fresh chilli and spring onion. Serve along with the sweet and spicy sauce.