Directions

1. Cut the garlic chives into 2-inch stalks. Chop the red chili into small pieces (optional, for color). Thinly slice 1 inch of ginger and 2 garlic cloves. Peel the shallots and roughly dice them into small pieces.

   
2. Add half of the ginger slices, 2 garlic cloves, and 1 shallot into a blender and blend until finely minced.
   
3. Add the minced aromatics into a sauce pan along with 1 tbsp of cooking oil. Stir over medium heat for a few minutes or until the aromatics are slightly golden on the edge. Add 1 Tbsp of red pepper flake. I actually combined 2 tsps of mild chili flake and 1 tsp of spicy chili powder to adjust the heat level. If you can't handle too much chili, it is totally ok to use sweet paprika.
   
4. Continue by adding 1 Tbsp of soy sauce, 1 Tbsp of oyster sauce, 1/2 Tbsp of Laoganma chili crisp, 1/2 Tbsp of hoisin sauce, 1/2 tsp of cumin powder, 1/2 tsp of chicken bouillon powder, and 2 tbsps of water. Stir well and let everything mingle over low heat for a minute. Set the sauce aside
   
5. To prepare the squid, separate the head and the body by simply tearing it apart. As you pull, you will also drag the guts out. Discard that. Pull out the transparent quill and discard that as well.
   
6. Rub the edge of the squid surface to lose a little bit of tissue; then you should be able to grab the tissue and pull the skin off. Keep doing that until all the skin is gone. This step is optional, but it does make the squid more tender.
   
7. Tear the fins off. Slice the squid hood lengthwise. Open it so the inside of the tube is facing up. If you see any messy tissues, clean it. Use a sharp knife to carefully create parallel diagonal lines that are about 1/2 deep into the flesh. Try not to cut it all the way through. Then, switch to the opposite direction and create a crisscross pattern. This gives the squid a prettier presentation and allows flavors to cling to it. Make sure the cuts are on the inside of the hood because the squid curls from the inside out.
   
8. Cut the scored squid into 1.5-inch rectangular pieces. Do the same thing to the fins.
   
9. Use a pair of scissors to cut open the squid head. Remove the tissues and eyes. The mouth of the squid looks like a little ball, which is edible; you just have to give it a little squeeze to remove the teeth.
   
10. Cut the tentacles into bite-size pieces and rinse everything well. Prepping the squid is a little bit messy. You can ask the seafood market staff to do this for you if possible. You can also buy a bag of frozen pre-cut squid.
    
11. Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the squid and blanch for only 10 seconds. Remove the squid from the pot, and set it aside. Blanching is a popular Chinese method of preparing ingredients before stirring or frying. It helps to remove the squid's slimy liquid and fishy smell. Especially when you use previously frozen squid, this will make the dish taste so much better.
    
12. Turn the heat to high and heat the wok until smoking hot. Add a drizzle of oil, ginger slices, garlic slices, shallot, and red chili pepper. Stir for a minute or until fragrant.
    
13. Add the blanched squid. A perfectly stir fry squid must be cooked for less than 2 minutes. Otherwise, the texture will be rubbery. We blanched the squid for 10 seconds before, so now we have to count carefully. Stir the squid for 1 minute and 20 seconds first, then add the sauce and the garlic chives. Keep mixing for another 30 seconds, making a total of 2 minutes.
    
14. Serve with white rice.