Steamed Scallops with Glass Noodles and Fried Garlic
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Easy
Back at home in Hong Kong I grew up eating a lot of fresh shellfish, often steamed on a bed of glass noodles with fried garlic. It is always a treat to see that on the dinner table. The recipe I am sharing here uses scallops but you can substitute with prawns, razor clams or even squid. It is a very quick process so make it the last dish to cook for the meal, so you are able to serve it immediately.
This recipe is written by Cherry Tang, a London-based food writer specialising in Cantonese home cooking.
Ingredients for steamed scallops with glass noodles Serves: 2
- 4 king scallops
- 2 half scallop shells
- 25g glass noodles
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Half of a stalk of spring onion, green part only
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp rice wine
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp water
- Oil for frying (e.g. vegetable oil or peanut oil)
- An 8" 2 tier steamer
Method for steamed scallops with glass noodles
- Ask your fishmonger to clean the scallops and remove them from the shell for you. Get rid of any excess water, set the shell aside and then cover the scallops with cling film. Keep them in the fridge until needed.
- Soak the glass noodles in room temperature water for at least 30 minutes, make sure they are fully submerged.
- Finely chop the garlic and then fry gently in plenty of oil until golden. This should take around 4-5 minutes on a medium low heat.
- Once the glass noodles are softened, pour boiling water on top to partially cook them. It should only take a few seconds. Drain the noodles and then toss them with sesame oil, rice wine and light soy sauce.
- Half fill a saucepan with water and then bring to the boil.
- Place one of the shells on a small heat proof plate that would fit in the steamer. Put half of the glass noodles in the shell, and then 2 scallops on top. Carefully spoon the fried garlic and oil on top. Add 1 tsp water along the side of the shell to keep the noodles hydrated.
- Repeat step 6 for the other two scallops.
- Put one plate in each steamer and then stack the baskets up. Place the baskets on top of the saucepan, make sure the base is not touching the boiling water. Set a timer for five minutes.
- Meanwhile, finely slice the spring onion. When the timer is around 3 minutes in, heat up a couple of tbsp oil in a small frying pan until it is almost smoking hot.
- Once the scallops are done, turn the heat off and then place the spring onion on top. You can add a few drops of light soy sauce here if you prefer stronger flavours. Finish the dish with a big splash of smoking hot oil.
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About the author
Cherry is a London based supper club host specialising in Cantonese home cooking. Born in Hong Kong, Cherry grew up watching her grandfather cooking large family feasts for Chinese festivals. Cherry craved the taste of home ever since moving to London for education. She started cooking the dishes she used to eat back home for friends and family, and eventually started her supper club in SE London in 2012. You can follow her passion for cooking and photography via her Instagram account FeedTheTang.
