Stir fry Scallops with fresh ginger and chillies

The Scallop Season has opened on Bruny Island after a long closure due to damage to the scallop beds by the ‘crown of thorns’ star fish. Local recreational fishermen and women are braving the cold wintery weather and waters to gather these delicious morsels to the table.

During a brief break in the weather, clouds parted and the sunshine rallied me from an afternoon of hibernation with thoughts of collecting the last of the vegetable harvest from the hot house and a few winter vegetables from the kitchen garden.

I like to collect my vegetables as close to cooking as possible to maximise the  vitamin, mineral and trace element content in the food.  I prefer to wash rather then peel my vegetables as the goodness is directly under the skin and peeling risks cutting the best part away.

In this recipe I have chosen fresh ginger and chillies as an accompaniment to this dish because they are complementary in feeding the immune system

Scallops are rich source of vitamin B12., The body needs B12 to convert the chemical homocysteine that is associated with diabetes, osteoporosis and heart disease into other harmless substances.  Scallops are also rich in Potassium and Magnesium two of the minerals needed for healthy blood vessels.

An average serving of scallops, 110 grams contains the following percentages of the recommended daily in take of the following nutrients:  Vitamin B12 101.6%, Iodine 90%, Phosphorus 69%, protein 46.5%, Selenium 44.7%, Choline 29.5%, Zinc 16%, Magnesium 10.4%, Potassium 10.1%.

Recipe serves 6 adults

Ingredients

1 kilo fresh scallops
3 cm knob of fresh ginger
2 fresh red chillies (optional)
1/2 a bunch green tops only of spring onions
2 table spoons peanut oil
1 table spoon toasted sesame oil
1 table spoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
fresh ground salt and white pepper corns

Method

Finely chop ginger and chillies.
Roughly chop spring onion tops.
Into a large wok place the peanut oil and sesame oil and heat the wok.
When the oil is hot, add the chopped ginger, chillies and spring onion tops and stir until wilted and tender.
Keeping the heat under the wok on high, add your scallops and soy sauce, stir constantly for 2 mins add the ground salt and pepper, stir through.
Remove the wok from the heat, add the fish sauce and stir through.

Serve with a fresh garden vegetable stir fry on a bed of steamed rice.
My vegetable stir fry recipe will be posted to the recipe page.