Edinburgh’s We Are Junk is a family project from patriotic locals Cam and Jade. The couple have more than 20 years of hospitality experience between them and this year they finally launched their first solo project. With a Scottish Street Food accolade already under their belt – largely thanks to a menu boasting dishes such as soft shell crab with tattie scones and slow-cooked pork with Thai green sauce – We Are Junk is making waves in the Scottish capital and is well worth keeping an eye on.
SERVES: SIX OR MORE
Ingredients:
The fish 400g mussels
100g white wine
1 fillet sea bass
4 langoustines
2 baby squid (cleaned)
8 queen scallops
1 red onion
2 litres water
20g table salt
500g whole milk
Prep:
Cook off the mussels in white wine, drain and cool.
Cook the langoustines in boiling salted water for 1 minute 30 seconds. Remove from the water and cool.
Separate the tails and the claws of the langoustines. Carefully remove the meat from the shells and ditch them. Reserve the meat.
Crack open the queen scallops, discard the roe and skirts.
Slice the sea bass into 6 or 7 pieces, depending on the size.
Separate the heads and tentacles of the squid.
Slice the red onion into rings. Place everything into a large bowl and cover in milk. Leave to soak for at least an hour.
The coating:
200g polenta
30g crushed cool Doritos
100g plain flour
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cracked black pepper
Maldon salt to taste
Mix everything together. Set aside until you’re ready to go!
Garlic and squid ink mayo:
140g Hellmann’s mayonnaise
1 garlic clove
10g squid ink
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 sheet nori seaweed
Method:
Cooking final stage:
Preheat your deep fryer to 190C.
Remove the seafood mix from the milk and cover in the coating. Repeat until everything is fully coated.
Fry in batches (2-3 minutes) and drain on kitchen paper.
Season with Maldon salt and garnish with chilli and spring onion.
