I LOVE-LOVE dried Scallops.

[boomchakabowwow]

the other day I had an 6 hour online training. it was brutal. I tried to make the situation better by doing it from home. I planned poorly and wasn't ready for lunch. so I rallied.

I made JOOK. I had nothing for Jook except some dried things. Scallops, Shrimp, and mushrooms. so off I went. I had a frozen container of really weak chicken stock I made, so I used it. that is all I used beside salt and pepper.

I gotta admit. I think I used 3 scallops and maybe 8 tiny dried shrimp. I started the Jook going in the morning and by lunch time I had a nice Jook going. even my wife came home and had some.

it is crazy what flavor bombs those three things are. I should have slipped in some Kombu just cuz I could.

I think I am going to try to make a dry scallop fried rice. . see what happens.

 

[Rangen]

the other day I had an 6 hour online training. it was brutal. I tried to make the situation better by doing it from home. I planned poorly and wasn't ready for lunch. so I rallied.

I made JOOK. I had nothing for Jook except some dried things. Scallops, Shrimp, and mushrooms. so off I went. I had a frozen container of really weak chicken stock I made, so I used it. that is all I used beside salt and pepper.

I gotta admit. I think I used 3 scallops and maybe 8 tiny dried shrimp. I started the Jook going in the morning and by lunch time I had a nice Jook going. even my wife came home and had some.

it is crazy what flavor bombs those three things are. I should have slipped in some Kombu just cuz I could.

I think I am going to try to make a dry scallop fried rice. . see what happens.

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Dried scallops are one of my favorite things. One way you tell a good XO sauce is that it has plenty of dried scallop. XO sauce is a condiment popular in Hong Kong; some of the top Cantonese restaurants make their own.

Dried scallops used to be sort of cheap; now the good ones (the ones in your hand look good) are expensive. That hasn't stopped me from making, several times, a wonderful Dried Scallop Soup whose recipe appears in Yan Kit's Classic Chinese Cookbook. The only ingredients are dried scallops, bamboo shoot, plus a small amount of salt and some potato flour and an egg, the latter two for body and thickening. The dried scallops are all you need to get a great flavor in the soup that you would not want to adulterate. The bamboo shoots are slivered to match the slivers of scallop (dried scallop falls apart into slivers), providing a contrast on the tongue. A great simple dish that highlights a great ingredient.

 

[Rangen]

I'm with you on "really weak chicken stock" for jook/congee, BTW. It took me a long time to get jook I was happy with, and the two most important pieces of the puzzle were a thermos pot, and a weak stock made by putting a whole chicken in a pot, covering with water, bringing the water to a near-boil, and then turning off the heat and letting things sit for an hour.

 

[darkamage]

Nice, I love dried scallop jook/congee/porridge! i usually have a side of simple stir fried chinese mustard greens with it.
Btw, looks like you have the good dried ocean scallops. I usually use the cheaper dried bay scallop .