A Penghu dish of small squid, called xiao guan, wok-fried with garlic, ginger and thin wheat vermicelli that soaks up the squid's briny juices. A showcase of the fresh squid of the Penghu islands' fisheries.
Penghu squid noodles, xiao guan mian xian, is a signature dish of the Penghu islands, Taiwan's offshore-island county in the Taiwan Strait, whose rich fishing grounds make squid, called xiao guan locally, an abundant and defining catch. The dish is a simple, ingredient-led stir-fry: small squid, fresh from the morning's catch, are cleaned and quickly wok-fried with garlic, ginger and soy, then thin wheat vermicelli, mian xian, are added and tossed through, the delicate noodles soaking up the squid's briny juices and the seasoned sauce, softening into the dish. The whole is finished with white pepper, sesame oil and chopped scallion, and eaten hot. The freshness of the squid is the whole point, the small xiao guan, tender and sweet, unlike the larger tougher squid of mainland markets, and the thin vermicelli, with its high surface area, is the perfect absorber of the squid's flavour. Sold in Penghu's harbour-side restaurants and a specialty of the islands' home cooking, the dish is the edible proof of the islands' fishing wealth, a single ingredient, the fresh squid, made into a meal by the vermicelli.
Tender, sweet small squid in a glossy, garlicky sauce clinging to soft vermicelli that has soaked up all the briny juices, warmed with ginger and finished with sesame and scallion. Brightly squid-y, the freshness unmistakable; a single-ingredient dish done right.
The dish is built on the freshness of the squid and the absorbency of the vermicelli. Small squid, ideally the xiao guan of the Penghu catch, are cleaned, the ink sac and beak removed, the body cut into rings or left whole if small, and the tentacles kept. Garlic and ginger are stir-fried briefly in oil to perfume it, the squid added and wok-fried over the highest heat for only a minute or two, until just opaque, over-cooking toughens squid quickly. Soy sauce, rice wine, a little sugar and water are splashed in, then thin wheat vermicelli, pre-blanched or dry, are added and tossed through, the delicate noodles drinking up the squid's juices and the sauce, softening and flavouring through. The high surface area of the thin vermicelli makes it the ideal absorber, the squid's briny character permeating every strand, and the noodles become the carrier of the dish's flavour. Sesame oil, white pepper and scallion finish, and the dish is served hot. The freshness of the squid is everything, frozen or stale squid lacks the sweetness and turns rubbery.
Variations
Some versions add tomato or chili for colour and heat. A soup version serves the squid and vermicelli in broth. Dried shrimp adds umami.
On the Palate
Where Penghu Squid Noodles sits in the Taiwanese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 20 min
- 14 min
Clean 400g small squid: remove the ink sac, beak and transparent quill; cut the bodies into rings, keep the tentacles.
- 24 min
Blanch 150g thin wheat vermicelli in boiling water for 1 minute, drain.
- 34 min
Heat a wok until smoking; stir-fry 4 minced garlic and 4 slices ginger in 2 tbsp oil for 30 seconds.
- 45 min
Add the squid and stir-fry over the highest heat for 1 to 2 minutes until just opaque.
Watch outStir-fry the squid over the fiercest heat for barely a minute or two, just to opaque — a few seconds too long and it turns rubbery and tough.
- 55 min
Splash in 2 tbsp soy, 1 tbsp rice wine, 1 tsp sugar and 100ml water; add the vermicelli and toss until it absorbs the sauce.
Watch outAdd the vermicelli and toss until it drinks up the sauce — the noodles should soak up the liquid, not sit in a puddle of it.
- 63 min
Finish with sesame oil, white pepper and chopped scallion; serve hot.