Stir Fried Squid in Black Bean Sauce

[Hughlipton]

I've got a hankering for this dish and although I will be going to San Francisco soon I would like to know if there are any Los Angeles recommendations. A lot cheaper than airfare to the Bay area every time I want to have this dish.

[mrgreenbeenz]

I recently had the clams in black bean sauce at Zen Mei (right across the street from Hop Li).

They were great and I'm 99% sure they have squid as well. Probably a little cheaper than Hop Li and the quality all around is similar. You just pay a bit more for the nicer (?) atmosphere at Hop Li.

[raytamsgv]

They are very common to Hong Kong and Cantonese restaurants. Even if it is not on the menu, ask them if they can cook it. If they have squid available, it won't be a problem. It helps to think of Cantonese/Hong Kong cooking as a combination of the following: meat, veggies, and flavoring.

Some flavorings include: salt & pepper, ginger & green onions, black beans, garlic, etc.

You can generally combine the meat with just about any flavoring, though some combinations work better than others. Suppose a restaurant offers salt & pepper squid and black beans with ribs. Even if it's not listed, they will almost certainly be able to cook black beans with squid. You could try ordering salt & pepper ribs, but I don't think that would be a good combination, although I'm sure they'd cook it for you if you asked for it.

[Hughlipton]

What a dummy. I went on line today and pulled up the Hop Li menu and sure enough my "go to" Chinese restaurant has it on the menu. Will head there this week.

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Hop Li Seafood
526 Alpine St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

[Clinton]

Couldn't figure out what you were saying? Black bean dishes are served at most Chinese restaurants with most seafood like fish, shrimp, crab, scallops, or squid (calamari). Commonly it's served with bell peppers, onions, and garlic, but it depends on the chef who's preparing it. It's probably one of my favorite items when ordering.

[Burger Boy]

Had great Scallops in Black bean sauce at Mandarin Chateau in Mandarin Plaza.

970 N. Broadway

[ipsedixit]

Scallops = Squid ????

[sillygoosedown]

No. Even though they taste the same, they are biologically very different. Scallops are bivalves. Squids are cephalopods...more closely related to octopuses. Scallops feed on detritus. Squids, on the other hand, are predators.

[Clinton]

Have to agree with you ipsedixit. Squid or calamari (ha, party boat fish bait) is totally different in taste that scallops. I actually prefer calamari even though the taste of scallops are much sweeter and tender by nature. Ah, but I've also had very tender calamari which was perfectly and skillfully tenderized by an expert chef.

[Burger Boy]

Not sure if they have squid but they have excellent scallops, sorry, that is what I should have said.

[Clinton]

Funny that I had this dish recently at Tasty Kitchen in Gardena which I thought was pretty well done. I had it along with an order of roast duck which made me a happy camper. A word of warning for Friday lunches. The place is packed!

[wolfe]

Found some very nice words about it at Newport Tan Cang Seafood Restaurant on Las Tunas in San Gabriel.

[ipsedixit]

Lots of places have this dish (very common in Canto or Chiu Chow restaurants), but the best iteration of this is probably at Newport or Seafood Village.

[monku]

I've never seen it on any menu. Any Cantonese seafood restaurant should be able to make it for you on request. I've never had it but it sounds interesting.