Stir-Fried Scallops with Leeks
Submitted by Ladyfl2
Chinese-style stir-fried scallops with leeks, scallions, ginger and garlic in a dark soy, rice wine, chili bean and sesame oil sauce. Ready in 7 minutes of cooking time once everything is prepped.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
7 minREADY
40 minStir-frying scallops is unforgiving. They go from raw to perfectly cooked in about four minutes flat, and another minute past that turns them rubbery. This Chinese-style preparation is built around that narrow window, with the leeks, garlic, and ginger building flavour in the pan before the scallops go in at the very end for just enough time to set.
The leek prep is the most time-consuming part. Trim and split the white parts, cut them at a slight diagonal into 2-inch segments, and wash them well in multiple changes of cold water. Leeks hide grit between their layers, and a single rinse rarely gets it all. Crunchy sand in a finished stir-fry is the kind of mistake you won’t make twice.
The sauce is what makes this Chinese rather than generic stir-fry: dark soy sauce for colour and salt, rice wine for depth, chili bean sauce (doubanjiang) for the spicy-savoury hit that defines the dish, and sesame oil for fragrance at the end.
Chef Tips
- Dry the scallops thoroughly with paper towels before they hit the pan. Wet scallops steam instead of searing, and you’ll end up with grey rubbery proteins.
- Heat the wok properly before adding oil. A hot wok with cold oil gets the high heat that stir-frying requires; cold pan steams everything instead.
- Use chili bean sauce (doubanjiang), not chili garlic sauce or sriracha. The fermented bean character is irreplaceable in this dish.
- The scallops are done when they’re slightly firm to the touch and just opaque through the centre. Trust the four-minute timing; don’t be tempted to cook longer.
Variations
- Serve over steamed jasmine rice to catch the sauce.
- Substitute shrimp or thinly sliced chicken for the scallops; adjust timing as needed.
- Add a handful of sliced shiitake mushrooms or snow peas with the leeks for added vegetable depth.
Ingredients
Directions
If the scallops are very large, cut them in half.
They are cooked when they are slightly firm to the touch.
Dry the scallops with paper towels and set aside.
Trim the leeks and discard any yellow parts.
Cut the leeks at the point where they begin to turn green and discard the green parts.
Split the white parts in half.
Cut the white parts of the leeks at a slight diagonal into 2-inch segments.
Wash them well, several times, in cold water.
Heat a wok or large frying pan until it is hot, then add the oil, leeks, scallions, garlic, ginger and salt and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Add the sauce ingredients and stir-fry the mixture for 3 minutes.
Lastly, add the scallops and continue to stir-fry for 4 more minutes, or until the scallops are just cooked.
Serve at once.
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