Stir-Fry Braised Broccoli Mushroom Scallop

02/02/2022

This is a popular vegetable dish we enjoy during our family meals, and you would often see it on the menu during your CNY reunion dinner or at a wedding celebration. There are many variations to this recipe but for us, we love preparing it using shiitake mushrooms and seared scallops to enhance the sweetness and delicious umami flavour. Of course, not forgetting the symbolic meaning behind the round shape of the scallops and mushrooms represents oneness, prosperity and the blossoming of new beginnings – an integral concept of reunion during Chinese New Year.

If you don’t enjoy eating broccoli, you can also replace it with bok choy or kai lan – which are longer vegetables representing long life, while leafy greens like cabbage or sang choy represent growing fortune.

How to braised using a claypot?

Place the dried Chinese mushrooms into a medium bowl, and pour 2-3 cups of hot water over them. Place a plate over the bowl so the mushrooms are completely submerged. Because the mushrooms are small, they should be reconstituted quickly. We like to soak them in the fridge overnight or for a few days, however, you can also soak them 1 hour ahead before you use them.

After your mushrooms are done soaking, transfer to a plate and gently squeeze out the excess water. Cut off the stem of the soaked mushroom. Set the mushrooms and the soaking water aside.

Now, heat your clay pot over medium-high heat. Spread 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil around the perimeter. Add the finely minced garlic and mushrooms, and stir fry for 10 seconds. Now add in 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce, Shao xing wine and oyster sauce. Then, carefully pour the mushroom soaking water into the wok, making sure that you don’t pour any sediment from the bowl into the clay pot. Braise it for 20 – 30 minutes, then add in your scallop. Cook till it turns white before the next step.

Next, mix the cornstarch slurry and slowly pour it into the sauce while stirring constantly. After letting the mushrooms cook for an additional minute, taste the sauce. If needed, re-season with more soy sauce, sugar, or oyster sauce to your own preference. Add more hot water if the sauce is too thick or more cornstarch slurry if the sauce is too thin. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon.

Preparation of Broccoli

Trim off the florets: Slice straight through the broccoli stem as close to the crown as you can get. The crown should break into several large florets. Cut through the “trunk” of each floret to make bite-sized pieces. Place these in a small bowl and run them under water to wash away any grit.

Trim and slice the stem: The main stem of the broccoli is entirely edible. Trim off any leaves or blemishes. You can remove the tougher top layer of skin with a peeler if you would like, but it’s not necessary. Slice off the bottom inch of the stem and discard (it’s usually too dry to be very tasty). Slice the remaining stem into disks. Stems take longer than florets to cook, so place all these slices in a separate bowl from the florets. Rinse under water to wash away any grit.

Blanch it: Prepare a bowl of ice water and have it next to the stove. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Add a heaping tablespoon of salt. Add the broccoli florets and cook until crisp-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge immediately in the ice water. Let the water come back to a boil, then cook the stems until they are also crisp-tender, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. If you would like softer vegetables, cook for an additional 30 seconds.

Arrange the broccoli into a circle around a large serving plate, with a space in the middle for the mushrooms. Transfer the mushrooms and sauce to the centre of your cooked broccoli.

This is a flexible dish where you could remove the scallop for the vegetarian version. Or you can replace the broccoli with bak coy if you are not a broccoli lover.

xoxo, Joe