Fried Calamari Tacos
I absolutely LOVE calamari! I was dining at a restaurant called Palm House in the Marina District, San Francisco and I couldn't believe my eyes... they had CALAMARI TACOS! I was so surprised as I had never seen those on a menu before. Naturally I had to order them and naturally I had to try and recreate them at home... and thus my fried calamari tacos were born.
What makes these so great is that I used my air fryer and they came out to a perfect crispiness! Now, don't get me wrong, I do love calamari but sometimes the little squid resemblance piece creep me out! I just ask my see food guy at Whole Foods to give me tubes only and I love it!
Fried Calamari Tacos
Cook Time | Approx. 35 min | Servings: 4 (2 tacos each) | Calories per serving: ~314 cals
Ingredients:
8oz fried calamari
8 corn tortillas
2 cups cole slaw ( I use organics slaw mix from whole foods)
2 tbsp sriracha mayo
1/4 cup tartar sauce
fresh parsley for garnish
For the Fried Calamari:
1/2 cup flour, separated into 2 bowls (1/4 cup in each)
1/2 tsp paprika, separated into 2 bowls (1/4 tsp each)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, separated into 2 bowls (1/4 tsp each)
1/4 cup fat free milk
8 oz calamari tubes
Spray oil
For the tartar sauce:
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 tbsp sweet relish
Optional to taste preference: 1/2 tsp zero calorie sweetener or sugar
If you have calamari tubes, cut them into 1/2 inch thick pieces, you should yield between 25-30 pieces. Set out three bowls.
In the first bowl, add 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp paprika, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. Copy this same mixture into a second bowl. In the third bowl pour 1/4 cup milk.
Working one piece at a time dip the calamari into the first flour bowl, then into the milk, and then into the second flour bowl making sure to coat it throughly. Repeat until you have coated all calamari.
Spray the bottom of your air fryer basket with spray oil. Place the calamari in the air fryer being careful not to crowd it too much. I cooked mine in two batches to give them plenty of room. Once in the basket spray the top of the calamari with the spray oil being sure to coat it all the way around.
Cook in the air fry on 370 for 8 minutes. Half way through, when you have 4 minutes left, pause the cooking and toss the calamari around in the basket and then return to the fryer for the remaining 4 minutes. Be sure to check your air fryer settings as every air fryer is different and could need a different cooking time.
While the calamari is frying prepare the tartar sauce. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise and the relish. I like to add a bit of sweetener so to take a bit of the bitterness out of the sauce, but this is purely my own preference so cater to your own tastebuds and add or don't add as needed! :)
Prepare the cole slaw mix by toss the mix in a bowl with the sriracha sauce.
Heat the tortillas in the microwave between two damp paper towels for 30 seconds. Assemble the tacos by placing 1/4 of the cole slaw mix on the tortilla followed by 3-4 pieces of calamari, 1 tsp of tartar sauce and fresh parsley to garnish.
