Ingredients
½ c. shallots, sliced thinly
3 T. sesame oil
2 T. fresh garlic, minced
1 ½ T. fresh ginger, minced
3 T. sugar
1/3 c. dried scallops, soaked overnight in 2 c. water and shredded
¼ c. Chinese ham or any smoked salty ham, shredded
¼ c. black mushrooms, soaked in 1 c. water until soft and sliced very thinly
½ c. rice wine
2 t. red chili pepper, shredded
2 t. ground black pepper
½ t. cinnamon
1 egg white, beaten until soft peaks form
½ c. fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
2 Tubes silken tofu, sliced into 12 pieces ¾-inch circles
all-purpose flour
Canola oil
12 large fresh scallops, removed from the shell and cleaned
Preparation
Combine 1 T. ginger and ¼ c. rice wine with the fresh scallops in a shallow dish. Set aside.
Heat 1 T. canola oil in a skillet until hot. Fry the shallots until crisp and golden brown. Remove the shallots and reserve in a small bowl. Add the sesame oil to the shallots and set aside. In the oil where the shallots were fried, fry the remaining ginger and garlic. Add the sugar and the shredded dried scallops (reserving the liquid used to soak it). Add the ham and mushrooms into the mixture and stir well. Set aside the water used to soak the mushrooms. Saute the mixture until dry. Add the rice wine. Stir well and add the dried scallop liquid and the mushroom liquid. Season the sauce with the red chili peppers, ground black pepper and cinnamon. Over low heat, let the sauce simmer until it has been reduced to about one and one-fourth cup. Turn off the heat. Gently, add the beaten egg white by spoonfuls and let it poach slowly in the still hot sauce. Keep warm.
Steam the fresh scallops until cooked (about 5 min.). Separate the cooked scallops from the liquid and ginger bits. Set aside. Keep warm.
Coat the tofu rounds thinly with all-purpose flour. Heat 2 inches of canola oil until hot enough for bubbles to form around a wooden chopstick dipped in it. Place each tofu round in the oil, taking care not to break the rounds. When gold on one side, turn over and fry until both the tofu rounds are crisp and gold all over. Remove from oil and drain the tofu on paper towels. Keep warm.
To assemble, place each tofu round on individual serving plates. Place a fresh scallop on each tofu round and ladle the dried scallop-ham sauce over it, taking care to distribute the dried scallop, ham shreds, and egg whites. Spoon some of the crisp shallots over the scallop and sprinkle with the sesame oil that has been infused with shallots. Top with the fresh coriander leaves and serve immediately.
