Scallop Stir-Fry, Take 2

She Said:

Hey - long time, no see! Well, we have been very busy over the last few months but now things are finally starting to settle down a bit.

This is about a meal that we made last night. Our priorities have shifted since the economic woes of this country made us stop to think about our wild and crazy spending habits. So now, we are stretching that food dollar just as far as it can go! This is difficult to do when entertaining, which we did for the last two weekends, but it netted us some nifty little leftover situations. Last night's dinner was pretty much the end of the leftovers but I think it may have been the best meal we've made in a long time.

Last weekend, I went to the store and bought a pound of petite sea scallops, which were on sale. I popped them in the freezer until yesterday. Then I started to scrounge around for stir-fry ingredients and found a huge number of veggies to use. Here's how it all ended up.

Scallop Stir-Fry

1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 lb. petite sea or bay scallops
1 medium onion, sliced
2 Italian frying peppers, seeded (from our garden!)
1 small red bell pepper, seeded (from our garden!)
1 small broccoli crown
2 stalks celery
10 baby carrots
1 pint yellow wax beans, parboiled (from our garden!)
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari (soy sauce)
1 teaspoon corn starch
Fresh ginger
Canola oil
Sesame oil

Cook the brown rice according to package directions. That usually takes 45 minutes or so, so you have some time to do the rest of the prep work.

Chop up the peppers, broccoli, celery and carrots into the size you prefer. I usually go for smallish bite-size. Throw all of the chopped up veggies into a bowl and grate a couple of teaspoons of fresh ginger onto the top. Set aside.

Rinse the scallops and pat them dry. Grate about a teaspoon of fresh ginger over the top of the scallops. Heat a couple of tablespoons of canola oil and about two teaspoons of sesame oil in a large wok over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the scallops and cook them for about three or four minutes, stirring constantly. When the scallops are cooked, remove them from the wok and set aside.

Add more oil, if necessary. Add the garlic to the wok and cook until golden. Add the vegetables to the wok and cook, stirring constantly, until the veggies are as tender as you want them. I like them soft so I let them go for a while. Add the scallops back in and mix well until scallops are heated through.

In a small bowl, combine the sherry, tamari, and cornstarch. Add to the wok and mix well. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden.

Serve over rice, sprinked with the toasted sesame seeds, and enjoy! We sure did!

P.S. I would have thrown some mushrooms into this mix but ours were past their prime, to put it lightly. Ew!

________________________________________

He Said:

There are certain words that just get my culinary juices excited.  "Scallops" and "Stir-Fry" are most definitely right up there at the top of that list.  So when She said "Hey, would you be interested in a scallop stir-fry tonight?" my heart (ok, my belly) just went all a-flutter.  

This is such a great meal.  It's easy and, dare I say, fun to make (lots of action, noise and smells).  And best of all, it is so ding-dang delicious!   In my opinion, this is a great weekday, after work meal that you can whip up in almost no time.  Plus, have I mentioned the leftovers?  Mmmmm......leftovers..........