Queen scallops in a Chinese style broth

We often go to a Chinese place, near where we live, called the noodle bar. Huge steaming hot bowls of delicious food come flying out of the kitchen at an alarming rate and the smells and the busy, buzzing atmosphere add to the experience. I try to have something different every time as I don't want to feel I'm missing out on something but I do regularly have a bowl of noodles in broth with whatever I fancied that day heaped on top. I have tried to replicate something similar here and although it isn't exactly authentic it tasted pretty good. 

Scallops come courtesy of a nice man from the Isle of Man. The Isle of Man queenie scallop festival is running from the 29th June to the 5th July this year so book your seat!

Ingredients:

• 30 queenie scallops or 10 king scallops


• 500ml chicken or vegetable stock


• star anise


• 2 spring onions roughly chopped


• thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into thin batons


• clove of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced


• small deseeded chilli, thinly sliced


• two medium sized pak choi, roughly chopped


• coriander to garnish


• 150g udon or medium rice noodles


• sesame oil


• vegetable oil

Warm the stock in a pan with the star anise in it to infuse. Put on a pan of water to boil, then add the noodles, take off the heat and let the noodles cook in the hot water for the time indicated on the packet. Heat a wok on a very high heat then add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. The pan should be smoking hot ( but do be careful!). Have everything chopped and lined up beside the pan at this point as it doesn't take long to cook in the high heat.  Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir fry for about 30 seconds then add the scallops and cook for a further minute. Add the pak choi, spring onions and the cooked noodles and fry for another thirty seconds to a minute and then add about three tsps of sesame oil. Take off the heat, ladle in the stock (having removed the star anise) and serve immediately, in bowls, with a sprig of coriander on top. 

Salt, Chilli and pepper squid

I have had rather a productive day for a bank holiday, when generally everyone lazes around relishing the fact that it's another day off the full working week (although I was at work on Sunday so it doesn't really count for me). I did sleep in just a little but I struggle to get up when it is really humid. It's been about 20 degrees centigrade here today, which is a big change from just a few weeks ago when we had snow and I don't think my body has had time to adjust.

First off was a quick trip to the garden centre to try and get my garden sorted for summer. I bought some strawberry plants and some seeds to sow peppers, tomatoes and lettuce and some shrubs for the front garden. I have been a bit lax with the garden this year and it was slowly beginning to look like a poster advertisement for Day of the Triphids. I also had time to squeeze in making a pavlova, which I will post about later. I'm now rewarding my efforts with a glass of wine but sadly it will be my last before my 10k run next Sunday.

I have seen frozen squid in the supermarket on several occasions and since I can't get any fresh I thought I'd buy some. They were prepared baby squid and I decided they would be very nice pan fried for dinner and served on salad. 

 

Ingredients 

Around seven prepared baby squid

I bag of salad leaves, eg rocket, spinach, watercress

A handful of black olives, pitted

A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

olive oil

1 tsp of dried chilli flakes

Half a small clove of garlic, crushed

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp rock salt

3 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp vinegar 

4 tbsp plain flour

 

Prepare the salad first by assembling the salad leaves, tomatoes, and olives in a bowl. Make the dressing by putting the garlic, vinegar, soy sauce and freshly ground black pepper into a glass. Add the oils and whisk to combine, set aside. Cut the squid into rings, leaving the tentacles whole and pat them dry. Heat a couple of tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Mix the flour together with the chilli flakes, salt and pepper and coat the squid with it. Drop the squid into the very hot pan and move it around to get the squid evenly coloured, this should take about four or five minutes and no longer as the squid will become tough. Whisk the salad dressing again to combine, drizzle over the leaves and mix to cover the leaves lightly. Divide between two plates. When the squid is cooked and golden brown take out of the pan, heap on top the leaves and serve immediately. 

Serves two.