Calamares or Calamari is one of my favorite appetizer. It's not just a simple appetizer for me but can be a good dish to pair with rice.  When I was still working, this dish served as my lunch or dinner.

Here in the Philippines, Calamares is one of the famous street foods together with kwek-kwek. However, this food does not end only in the streets because a lot of restaurants are now serving Calamares.

Fried Calamari is a Mediterranean dish that consists of a batter-coated squid, deep fried and being serve with a lemon on the side. Other restaurant serve it with mayonnaise instead of lemon as condiments.

Here's how to cook fried calamari or calamares.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb medium to large sized squid, sliced into rings about 1/2 inch
2 cups flour
2 cups cooking oil
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp iodized salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
lemon juice or kalamansi juice

Procedure:

1. For Batter, combine all dry ingredients
2. Put the squid into the batter, make sure the squid is well coated.
3. Fry for 2-3 mins (oil temperature must be 350-375 degrees to achieve crispy calamari)
4. Sprinkle a little bit of salt into the fried calamari for flavor
5. Squeeze lemon juice or kalamansi juice on top. May serve with mayonnaise if you want.

Image Source: cocinay recetas

I will be sharing to you this simple appetizer which I copied from Gerry's Grill Restaurant. It's so easy to prepare and I am sure you will also love this simple appetizer. It's the Green Mango Salad of Gerry's Grill Restaurant.

Green Mango Salad is a combination of onions, tomatoes and crushed chiraron and here's how to prepare this simple recipe.

Ingredients:

1 green mango chopped
1 large onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
3/4 cup crushed chicharon
Sauteed alamang (Sauteed Small Shrimps)

1. With the tomatoes remove the seeds before chopping.

2. Combine all five ingredients.

3. Add alamang according to taste.

This appetizer is best for fried dishes and grilled recipes. You can add a little chili if you want it spicy hot.