asparagus

Scallops and Asparagus

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Scallops and Asparagus

I love this dish, especially at the Chinese restaurant whenever we have birthdays with grandma and grandpa. We would go to Tai San restaurant at this undisclosed location. We often go there at night and I would mostly be sleeping in the car due to motion sickness. And when I open my eyes, we would always just be driving into Tai San.

Come to think of it, people must have been richer then. We have cars and big houses. These days I can’t even afford a car or landed property. Have we improved or really become the new poor? We are more educated than our parents, but it seems we have lesser opportunities to break out of the poverty trap.

Anyway, the food at Tai San was always good. And we would always have our fill and family dinners were always about feasting and celebration. So this dish was always something that I would refer to as the menu filler. Scallops and Asparagus never really look like a main dish but more like a dish to make up the space in between great dishes. It was like a transitional dish to help make up the number.

It didn’t matter to me because I loved the dish as if it was a main. It was technically just as difficult as any of the other famous dishes to cook. If the scallops are not prepared properly, they would either be too raw or overcooked, and handling seafood is an art just like estimating the doneness in premium fillet mignon.

Here is my recipe for a very simple but delicious Scallops and Asparagus, hope you like it too.

Recipe

Ingredients

8-9 large stalks of Asparagus
6 large Japanese Scallops
2-3 Garlic (minced)
Drizzle of Light Soya Sauce
2-3 tbsp Olive Oil

Method

1. Shave the skin off the asparagus and sliced diagonally. Heat oil in wok, and fry the garlic until fragrant. Then throw in the asparagus pieces and fry at high heat. You want to create some gloss and be able to sear the vegetable.

2. Reserve the semi cooked asparagus and add oil again to fry the scallops. For this part, there is not much advice I can offer except that scallops cook rather quickly. Depending on the size you would want to moderate the heat in the pan. The end result you want to achieve is for the scallops to sear a little and to cook through.

3. Once the scallops are cooked through (most difficult part), add the asparagus back into the pan and continue to fry at high heat, add soya sauce and it should be just nice.

Bon Appetit!

Asparagus (Stir Fry)

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Asparagus (Stir Fry)

I love thick stock asparagus, and especially if fried with tiger prawns or large prawns per se. Somehow the two of them tango very well. The social glue here that makes it all great is the minced garlic and light soy sauce.

When they all come together, it is just simply amazing. You got to try this simple recipe. It doesn’t become the main dish, but it really enhances the meal at dinner.

With the Chinese scallop dancing in between them, magic truly happens.

Recipe

Ingredients

7-8 large stalks of Asparagus
1 tbsp of minced Garlic
6 medium fresh Prawns
5-6 Chinese Scallops
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

Method

1. Cut asparagus into diagonal slices, ensuring consistency in shape and size. Reserve aside.

2. Heat oil in frying pan, then add minced garlic. Turn heat to medium and watch over garlic to make sure it doesn’t burn but only browns. To prevent burning you can add more oil, although most would prefer not.

3. Add dried scallops into frying pan to fry. I know the recommendation is to soak them first, but I want the flavour to be stronger and for it to infuse with the oil. Once the fragrance of the scallops has been mixed with the garlic, it is time to add the prawns. Stir fry the prawns until it turns a hue of red, then immediately add the asparagus into the pan.

4. Fry till asparagus is shiny and softened. I use a pan-flip technique for this dish so that there is proper mixing of ingredients. I find this technique really useful when you want to get an all round even cooking outcome. Add the soy sauce and continue to do the pan-flip.

5. By now you should also observe that the minced garlic has caramelised with the juice of the prawns into a fragrant paste. Wah, delicious. If it smells great by now, that’s because it really is.

Bon Appetit!