[mod.recipes] RECIPE: Vaguely-Thai scallops

mogul@decwrl (Jeff Mogul) (09/26/86)

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.RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE SCALLOPS-1 M "6 Jun 86" 1986
.RZ "VAGUELY-THAI SCALLOPS" "Saut\z\(aaeed scallops with snow peas in fish sauce"
This is something I invented with what I had around after I bought some
scallops on impulse.  It's inspired partly by a recipe of Madeline Kamman's
and partly by Thai and Chinese recipes, although scallop recipes are rare
in my Asian cookbooks.  It's not spicy and probably has very little to do
with real Thai cooking, but the taste of Nam Pla (Thai fish sauce) is
an interesting complement to the scallops.
Serve it with rice.
.IH "4 servings"
.IG "1 lb" "Scallops" "500 g"
preferably the large (sea) kind, but small bay scallops should be ok
.IG "\(12 lb" "Snow peas" "250 g"
.IG "\(12 cup" "white wine" "125 ml"
.IG "3 Tbsp" "Nam Pla" "50 ml"
(Thai fish sauce)
.IG "3" "garlic cloves"
chopped
.IG "2 Tbsp" "fresh ginger," "40 g"
chopped
.IG "4 Tbsp" "butter" "50 g"
.IG "1 Tbsp" "lime juice" "15 ml"
.IG "" "freshly ground pepper"
.PH
.SK 1
Start some rice cooking, so it will be done when the scallops are done.
.SK 2
If you're using large (sea) scallops, slice them into
strips about
.AB "\(14 inch" "5 mm"
thick. If you're using small (bay) scallops, don't bother slicing them.
.SK 3
Rinse and drain the snow peas and remove the strings.  Cut the pods into
.AB "1-inch" "2-cm"
lengths.
.SK 4
Heat a small saucepan or skillet, then put in a little butter.  Add the ginger
and saute for 30 seconds, then add the garlic and saute for another
30 seconds.
.SK 5
Add the wine and fish sauce, and reduce the mixture by half, stirring often.
Keep this hot during the next few steps, but stir it so that it doesn't
burn.
.SK 6
Heat a skillet large enough to hold the scallops in one layer, and melt the
rest of the butter.  Over moderately high heat, add the scallops and pepper
to taste.  Add the snow peas and stir-fry until the peas have change color
and the scallops have turned opaque, about 2 minutes.  Don't overcook the
scallops, just cook them until they've lost their translucent look.
.SK 7
Add the sauce and lime juice
to the skillet and stir everything for a few seconds, until
well-mixed.
.SK 8
Serve immediately.
.NX
.I Nam Pla
is available in asian markets or some supermarkets. Substitute soy sauce if
you cannot find it. Do not add salt; the 
.I Nam Pla
is salty enough.
.SH RATING
.I Difficulty:
easy.
.I Time:
10 minutes preparation, 10 minutes cooking.
.I Precision:
Experiment with the proportions.
.WR
Jeffrey Mogul
DEC Western Research Lab, Palo Alto, California
{ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!mogul, mogul@decwrl.DEC.COM