Recipe - Stir-Fried Scallops In A Basket

12 Fresh scallops (or prawns,
Chicken breast, or fish
balls)
12 sl Giant bamboo shoot
12 sl Carrot
12 Fresh snow peas or thinly
cut or sliced up broccoli
2 cup Shredded lettuce
2 md Potatoes
One half teaspoon Salt
4 cup Oil for deep frying
3 sl Fresh ginger
1 Clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoon Peanut oil
1 pn Salt
2/3 cup Chicken stock
2 tablespoon Gin
One half teaspoon Sugar
One fourth teaspoon White pepper
2 teaspoon Thin soy sauce
Cornstarch paste

Contrasting texture, color and appearance are hallmarks of this im
pressive banquet dish.

Preparation: Slice bamboo shoot across grain into 2" triangles. Peel &
slice carrots on bias. Remove strings from peas & wash. If substi tuting
broccoli, use peeled stems only; slice thinly on bias. Shred lettuce;
arrange like nest on round 10" serving plate.

Making Potato Basket: Peel, then coarsely shred potatoes. Or, slice
potatoes into thin matchsticks. Rinse potatoes in cold water twice; soak
them 30 minutes in cold salted water; rinse & drain. Slowly heat
deepfrying oil in wok to medium hot; test potato slice: it should brown in
30 seconds. Dust potatoes with cornstarch so they will stick together when
fried. Arrange them in a crosshatch pattern on Chinese wire strainer or
other suitable strainer to form deep basket. Press them in position with
another strainer. If you use bowl for pressing, heat it first, because you
don't want to cool frying oil. Immerse in oil & deepfry until potatoes
begin to brown. Remove from oil; take away top strainer only; drain;
reserve.

When ready to serve, heat oil to very hot, but not smoking; deepfry
potatoes in strainer again until they are brown & crisp. Place basket in
nest of lettuce.

Blanching: Dip scallops in hot but not boiling water; remove in 15 seconds
when scallops are warmed: don`t allow them to cook.

Stirfrying: As you heat wok to medium hot, stirfry ginger slices &
garlic to flavor wok; remove when they start to brown; discard. When wok is
hot, add peanut oil & salt; stir. Add bamboo shoots & carrots; stirfry 1
minute. Add stock. When stock boils, add scallops, snow peas, sugar,
white pepper, gin & soy sauce. Stir 1 minute. Add cornstarch paste to
thicken. Transfer to potato basket. Serve.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini