Regardless of what sauce you might choose or what vegetables you might add, the key ingredient in making a scallop stir fry is the scallops. Scallops, due to their bland flavor, can be combined with nearly any flavorings. The most important part of making this seafood dish is choosing fresh scallops and cooking them well. Along with this, scallops should always be cooked separately from vegetables and any sauce used in the stir fry. Following these key steps will help produce a pleasing scallop stir fry.
Choosing scallops that do not smell fishy is important. A strong fishy odor suggests that the scallops are not fresh. If the scallops which have been purchased for the stir fry are frozen, defrost them slowly. To quicken the defrosting process, it is best to run the scallops under cold water but never hot. Whether fresh or frozen before cooking, rinse the scallops and then pat them dry very gently with a paper towel, ensuring no water is left on them.
The most important thing, when making a scallop stir fry is knowing when the scallops are fully cooked. A raw scallop can entirely ruin an otherwise delicious meal. Scallops are cooked when they loose their translucent hue and become an opaque white in color.
When making a scallop stir fry, the frying pan or wok the scallops are being cooked in should never be covered. If covered, the scallops will boil. When scallops are boiled they become tough and develop a rubber-like consistency. This is very unappetizing.
It is important to remember that, when making a scallop stir fry, if the scallops are marinated prior to cooking them they must be removed from the marinade before they are cooked. If they are not seared and are instead cooked in the marinade they will become tough and quite unappealing just as if they were boiled. The marinade can be reserved and spooned over the scallops and other ingredients after the scallops have been cooked.
A scallop stir fry may contain any number of ingredients. The key to making this dish well, regardless of the combination of the ingredients, is having everything properly cooked. The best way to ensure that all of the ingredients are cooked to their full advantage is to cook the scallops separately from all the other ingredients.
First cook the vegetables and any other ingredients to be used in the scallop stir fry. Remove these ingredients from the frying pan or wok and then sear the scallops. Pan searing scallops in a small amount of olive oil, or butter for some added flavor, has become the popular choice when making this type of stir fry. This will only take a few moments. Once the scallops are fully cooked, combine them with the other ingredients.