This is a Book About Street Food, written by Brendan Pang, features a flavorful collection of 60 recipes inspired his travels across Asian street markets. A few highlights include Taiwanese Beef Noodles, Vietnamese Steamed Pork Buns, Mauritian Split Pea Flatbread (Dhal Puri), Roti Canai with Butter Bean Curry, and Hong Kong Egg Tarts. I will also be sharing his recipe for Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid following the review.
Disclosure: I received this book from Page Street Publishing in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and statements are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
Brendan Pang
Brendan Pang is a culinary entrepreneur and storyteller based between Perth, Australia and Taipei. His love of cooking started in his Grandmère’s kitchen and has been inspired by his family’s Mauritian-Chinese background.
He was a contestant on Masterchef Australia in 2018 & 2020 and has been featured by ABC Perth, Chinatown London, PopSugar, and more. Brendan is also the author of This is a Book About Dumplings and This is a Book About Noodles.
This is a Book About Street Food
Brendan begins This is a Book About Street Food with a short introduction before jumping into the recipes.
Chapters are divided according to the following: Dumplings, Noodles & Rice; Meat; Seafood; Vegetarian; Appetizers & Snacks; and Sweets & Baked Goods. The contents have a list of the included recipes with page number for easy reference.
The photography is provided by Wei Kang Liao with illustrations by Nikki Singh. Every single recipe is paired with a beautifully styled, full page photo of the finished dish.
Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in English with the romanized original name often in parentheses. Each recipe has a headnote with background information, helpful tips, and ingredient notes.
Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid
To pair with this review, I made Brendan’s Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid (椒鹽鮮魷)!
This was actually my first time ever cooking with squid, so I especially appreciated the easy-to-follow instructions and tips for preparing this delicious street food. Brendan has also recently put together a helpful video on YouTube for the dish.
After preparing the squid and cutting into bite-sized pieces, they are briefly marinated before tossing in a combination of seasoned flour, semolina, and uncooked polenta.
The squid pieces are then deep-fried in batches until golden brown and tender. To finish, they are stir-fried briefly with sliced garlic, red chilies, spring onions, salt, white pepper, Sichuan pepper, and a little sugar for even more flavor.
The Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid is best served immediately after stir-frying while still warm.
A Few Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid Tips
I bought the squid hood and tentacles already separated for easy prep.
I simply needed to cut the tentacles into smaller sections (about 3 tentacles per piece). For the hoods, I cut them open on one side and lightly scored a criss-cross pattern across the inside before cutting into individual squares. This will cause them to curl a little while frying with a more striking presentation.
Pat the squid dry to remove any excess moisture before adding to the bowl with the Shaoxing wine and sesame oil.
Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒) is a fermented rice wine originally from Shaoxing in the Zhejiang province in eastern China. I have been able to find it at larger grocery stores with a sizeable wine selection, such as Wegmans, and in markets specializing in Chinese ingredients. Dry sherry can be used as a substitution if you absolutely cannot find it.
Add the squid pieces to the oil in batches without overcrowding the pan. The temperature of the oil should remain around 350˚F (180˚C) for even cooking.
Take care to not overcook the squid. Fry just until golden brown, about 2 minutes, to keep that contrast between the crisp coating (so so good with the inclusion of the semolina and polenta) and tender squid.
Other Dishes
I also made the Popcorn Chicken with Basil, Spiced Chicken Murtabak, Black Pepper Beef Buns (Hu Jiao Bing), and Candied Fruit Skewers (Tanghulu).
Inspired by Taiwanese street markets, the Popcorn Chicken with Basil has such a vibrant mixture of spices. Chicken thighs are cut into bite-size pieces, marinated, then coated and fried twice until golden. They are served hot with crisp basil leaves.
The Spiced Chicken Murtabak was inspired by the Southeast Asian dish with Middle Eastern origins. In this version, a ground chicken filling is seasoned with curry powder, cumin, garlic, and ginger, then folded in spring roll wrappers. To finish, they are pan-fried until golden and served with lime wedges and sliced red onion.
The Black Pepper Beef Buns (Hu Jiao Bing) recipe was also inspired by Taiwanese markets. The homemade, yeast-based buns are filled with a juicy ground beef filling flavored with black pepper, white pepper, and Sichuan pepper, then baked until golden.
My daughter was especially excited to see the recipe for Candied Fruit Skewers (Tanghulu) in the book. She first came across them while we were in Yokohama’s Chinatown last year and immediately fell in love. She said these skewers were just as she remembered with strawberries and mandarins (can also use grapes and kiwi) coated in a crisp, glass-like sugar coating.
This is a Book About Street Food is a fantastic pick for those interested in street food recipes from across Eastern/Southern Asia and Mauritius designed with the home cook in mind. There is a wide variety from meat and seafood-based dishes to vegetarian options and desserts. Difficulty ranges from quick and easy snacks to recipes requiring longer resting or simmering times.
Many of the ingredients are becoming more readily available in larger American grocery stores. A few items that may require further searching include Chinese black vinegar, Shaoxing rice wine, garlic chives, dried shiitake mushrooms, glutinous rice, Thai basil, Chinese sausage, Sichuan peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, fresh curry leaves, shrimp paste, and more.
Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid Recipe
Excerpt from This is a Book About Street Food
Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid
Ingredients
Squid:
- 24.7 ounces (700 grams) squid tentacles and hoods cleaned
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) Shaoxing rice wine
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) vegetable oil plus more for frying
- 5 cloves garlic sliced
- 2 long red chiles sliced
- 2 spring onions sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper
Flour Mixture:
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (38 grams) semolina
- 1/3 cup (58 grams) uncooked polenta
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper plus more to taste
Instructions
To prepare the squid:
- Cut the tentacles into bite-sized pieces.
- Cut the squid hood in half lengthwise, then score a crisscross pattern on the inside, using a sharp knife. Cut into 1 1/4-inch (3-centimeter) squares.
- Pat dry with a paper towel, then combine in a bowl with the wine and sesame oil. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make your flour mixture:
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, semolina, polenta, salt and white pepper.
- Fill a wok with vegetable oil about two-thirds of the way up. Heat over high heat to 350°F (180°C) and test by dipping a wooden chopstick into the oil; the chopstick will sizzle when the oil is ready.
- Remove the squid from the fridge, dredge in the flour mixture, then deep-fry until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels, to drain.
- Place another wok over medium-high heat and add the 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of vegetable oil.
- Add the garlic, chiles and spring onions, and stir-fry for 30 seconds, or until aromatic.
- Add the squid along with the salt, sugar, white pepper and Sichuan pepper. Toss gently to combine and infuse all the flavors.
- Serve immediately.
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