Scallops with Asian Stir Fry

Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) and Zola To Go! recipe. Greetings on a snowy day in the Midwest. I hear this snowstorm is going to affect 100 million people so I figure every dieter in the US and Canada are being affected for sure.

So what treats do I have for you today?

I have a special ZReduction splurge entrée.

This recipe is a budget splurge, but can also be made with less expensive shrimp. Sometimes, though, when you are on a diet you just need to splurge and let loose so you feel good about what you eat, and still lose weight!

Servings: Serves 2. Can be doubled easily.

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz of sea scallops
  • 1 baby bok choy cut into ½ cup portion
  • ½ cup of yellow bell pepper chunks
  • ½ cup of pea pods (snow peas)
  • ½ cup of celery chunks
  • ½  cup of cherry tomatoes cut in half the long way
  • ½ cup of organic chicken stock or vegetable stock (or broth)
  • 1 Tbl of Bragg’s aminos
  • your favorite rub or seasoning (optional)
  • thai spice blend (optional)
  • sea salt and pepper
  • cayenne (optional)
  • olive oil cooking spray

Instructions:

The most important trick to cooking scallops is to make sure that after you rinse them you DRY them  To do this I put them on a paper towel and let them sit for about 10 minutes. I also gently pat the tops of them with another paper towel until they are dry. If the scallops are not dry they will give off a lot of juice and then they won’t brown and get crispy on the outside. You also need to use a large enough sauté pan so they are not touching each other while they cook.

While the scallops are drying I sprinkle on salt and pepper. I also use a favorite rub to flavor them. You can choose your own favorite rub with no sugar or leave them plain. Up to you.

In this instance I also cut the huge scallops in half cross-wise so they resembled large checkers. This way I have twice as many discs (checkers) to eat. It makes the dish feel like it’s more food and lasts longer.

Have all of your chopping ready. This dish comes together very quickly.

In a large sauté pan spray a bit of olive oil spray and add your scallop pieces. Saute on one side for a full 2 minutes on medium- medium high WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM. This will give them a brown crust.

While the two minutes is ticking away get out another large sauté pan or your wok. Spray lightly with olive oil and add the bok choy and yellow pepper first. Cook 1 minute. Add the Bragg’s along with the stock/broth. Cook on medium high. The broth will begin to boil and reduce. Add some Thai or Asian spice blend if you want. There are a zillion options. Just make sure you choose one with no sugar in it. Mine is called Thai Garden. I add about a tsp. This is all to your taste. I also add a sprinkling of cayenne because I like my Thai food spicy.

Turn the heat down to low and add the other veggies. Stir.

Take out a very sharp spatula and turn your scallops over. You want to make sure you get under the newly formed, golden crust. Cook on medium on the other side until the scallops are done to your liking. Some like their scallops rather translucent and on the other end of the scale some like them done throughout. I’m in the middle. I plan about 5 minutes total for a ½” – 1″ thick scallop. Even if they are ‘done’ all the way through they will still taste good.

Serve scallops alongside the veggies.

Enjoy!

Cheers,