Recipe - Buffalo Seafood

So, with about a week's worth of time to spend gathering furniture and gearing up for the long haul, we took a bit of free time checking out the enormous asian market nearby, Uwajimaya.

I felt like a kid in a candy store, seeing all the ingredients that I'd read about before, but never found! But, without a recipe in hand, we escaped with only a pound of fresh whole prawns and squid. Squid is not something I'd ever prepared before, but how hard could it be?

With a freshly stocked arsenal of flours at our disposal, we quickly cobbled together a recipe for a crunchy buffalo batter, using the traditional double-dip method that served us well when gluten was an option. And, as it turned out, rolling the squid rings and tentacles into small balls was far easier to bread than keeping the rings presentable, so fried squid balls it was!

In the end, we went for Garbanzo flour for its crispiness when fried, and crushed cornflakes on the outside for the flavor and added crunch. The results were beautifully golden, crispy balls that tasted way better than the usual all-purpose flour we're used to!

Buffalo seafood

¾ lbs Seafood (or Chicken)

1 cup Milk

1 cup Garbanzo Bean Flour

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 Egg

1-1 ½ cups crushed Gluten Free Cornflakes

Vegetable Oil/Canola Oil (enough in the pan to completely submerge the seafood)

Franks Red Hot/Buffalo Sauce, or your favorite Buffalo Sauce recipe

1. Follow any prep for cleaning and cutting your meat of choice.
2. Pour the milk in a bowl, and let your cuts soak for a bit, to make sure the batter sticks.
3. In another shallow bowl, combine the garbanzo flour with the garlic powder and cayenne pepper.
4. In a third bowl, crack and whisk one egg. It doesn't need to be light and fluffy- just combine the white and yolk.
5. Using a ziploc bag and a rolling pin, crush the cornflakes into a near powder (leaving some larger bits gives it a nice texture), then pour into a fourth shallow bowl.
6. Roll the meat around in the garbanzo flour, thoroughly coating it. If using squid, I recommend balling it up a bit, just to make the coating process easier. OPTIONAL- you can choose to chill the cuts at this point, to let the first flour coating to set up, and be less likely to come off in the egg wash/frier.
7. Dip the coated cuts in the egg, then immediately transfer them to the cornflake crumbs, thoroughly coating them. Put the oil-filled pan on medium-to-high heat at this point.
8. Once the oil is up to temp, throw them in! Keep close watch, and flip them if needed. As soon as each piece is uniformly golden-brown, take them off. Especially with squid, it can be easy to overcook.
9. Blot with a paper towel to remove excess oil, then slather on your sauce of choice. Enjoy!

Jason here. These were absolutely FANTASTIC. I can't emphasize how amazing these turned out, both the calamari and the prawn. I ended up not soaking them in hot sauce, but rather dipping them instead. This really helped them keep their crispiness. I have always loved buffalo, and fried breaded foods, so I was eager to try out a recipe. The taste was really perfect. The prawn and squid still each retained their distinctive tastes while the buffalo and breading adding a nice spicy kick. The only downside to the recipe is the amount of time and effort it took to prepare the seafood, however it is completely worth it. (especially since Kayleigh did all of the tough work)With the squid balls and prawn turning out so well, I cannot wait to try this recipe out again to make some boneless chicken wings. This will definitely be a go to recipe for whenever I am craving something buffalo flavored in the future.