2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
1-2 bird’s eye chilies, chopped
2 lbs. squid, cleaned, gutted, scored and cut into thick strips (see our video "How to Clean and Cut Squid")
3 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
½ tsp sugar
Juice of 2 limes
Bunch of spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced on the diagonal
A handful of whole fresh Thai basil leaves (you can get Thai basil from Asian food stores but otherwise use regular basil)
To Prepare:
Heat the oil in a wok or wide-bottomed frying pan. As soon as it is smoking hot, add the garlic, ginger and chili. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the squid pieces. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds, then add the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and spring onions. Just ‘show’ these last ingredients the heat, stir a few times and remove from the heat.
Stir in the basil leaves and serve. This is great with a mound of rice and something cooling, such as wedges of cucumber.