Recipe for "scallops-1"

NAME

     SCALLOPS-1 - Sauteed 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 cook-
     books.  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.

INGREDIENTS (4 servings)

     500 g     scallops preferably  the  large  (sea)  kind,  but
               small bay scallops should be ok
     250 g     snow peas
     125 ml    white wine
     50 ml     nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
     3         garlic cloves chopped
     40 g      fresh ginger, chopped
     50 g      butter
     15 ml     lime juice
               freshly ground pepper

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Start some rice cooking, so it will be  done  when
               the scallops are done.
          (2)  If you're using large (sea) scallops,  slice  them
               into  strips  about  5  mm  thick. If you're using
               small (bay) scallops, don't bother slicing them.
          (3)  Rinse and drain  the  snow  peas  and  remove  the
               strings.  Cut the pods into 2-cm lengths.
          (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.
          (5)  Add the wine and fish sauce, and reduce  the  mix-
               ture  by half, stirring often.  Keep this hot dur-
               ing the next few steps, but stir  it  so  that  it
               doesn't burn.
          (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.
          (7)  Add the sauce and lime juice to  the  skillet  and
               stir  everything  for  a  few seconds, until well-
               mixed.
          (8)  Serve immediately.

NOTES

     Nam Pla is available in asian markets or some  supermarkets.
     Substitute soy sauce if you cannot find it. Do not add salt;
     the Nam Pla is salty enough.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time: 10 minutes preparation, 10  minutes
     cooking.  Precision: Experiment with the proportions.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Jeffrey Mogul
     DEC Western Research Lab, Palo Alto, California
     {ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!mogul, mogul@decwrl.DEC.COM