ChefSteps is a team of chefs, writers, and food lovers who develop recipes, techniques, and guides to help people cook better at home.

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Imagine a fluffy Chinese steamed bun, only instead of <a href="/activities/stupidly-simple-sous-vide-pork-belly">pork belly</a> or <a href="/activities/the-ultimate-guide-to-making-crispy-amber-hued-peking-duck-at-home">Peking Duck</a>, it’s stuffed with crispy, golden-fried calamari. What we’re talking about here is a little Spanish-style slider, slathered with aioli and generously dusted with paprika. Sounds good, right? We thought so too. But when we thought about developing the recipe, something kept hanging us up: fried squid and steamed buns are so close in color, we worried we’d wind up with a bite-sized ’wich that tasted great but looked all beige and blah. And then it hit us: squid ink. Yup, squid ink. To the uninitiated, it may sound a little strange, but cephalopod ink is quite commonplace in Mediterranean cooking—showing up in Catalonian arròs negre and Venetian spaghetti, and in calamares en su tinta, a majorly meta Spanish dish in which squid get dressed in their own inky excretions. And you know <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/adamellis/i-went-to-japan-to-eat-the-black-burgers-from-mcdonalds-and">those weirdo black burgers</a> that fast-food restaurants offer in Japan? Those are darkened with squid ink too! Upon experimentation, we found it was super simple to just toss the dark ink in with the wet ingredients of the bun dough. The jet-black results provide a dramatic and appetizing backdrop for crispy squid, rich aioli, and thin slices of vibrant green onion.Sound good? Great. Now let’s see if we can anticipate some of your questions. Cephalopod ink is easy to come by on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Calamari-Spaghetti-Cuttlefish-Certificate/dp/B0BX6JXHCD?tag=chefsteps02-20">Amazon</a> and can be procured at a lot of Asian and specialty food shops as well. You can freeze extra ink until you’re ready to make some jet-black risotto or a really funky-looking hamburger. You can also make the buns in advance and freeze them, then reheat in a steamer basket before you serve. Baby octopus will make a fine substitute for the squid, but keep in mind it will have a chewier texture. Your famous sangria should go great with these buns, but a pilsner would be delicious too. Yes, KEXP is indeed the world’s greatest radio station. Our favorite Seahawk is Russell Wilson. Boxers AND briefs. We love <a href="http://seattle.eater.com/maps/chefsteps-guide-to-pike-place-market">all these places</a>. Yup, <a href="/jobs">we’re hiring</a>.