Scallop Balls in Sesame Sauce

Fish and Seafood

Scallop Balls in Sesame Sauce
Ingredients:
½ pound fresh scallops, each one cut in quarters
1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon gr0und white pepper
3 Tablespoons water chestnut flour in two parts
2 egg whites kept separated
3 Tablespoons Chinese white vinegar
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons thin soy sauce
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled and smashed
2 teaspoons coarsely minced fresh ginger
3/4 cup white sesame seeds
1 cup peanut or vegetable oil for deep frying

Preparation:
1. Put scallops, ginger, rice wine, salt, ground pepper, and half the water chestnut flour in a food processor with a metal blade and process until coarsely minced.
2. Add egg whites, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, tomato paste, garlic, and the ginger and process again until smooth.
3. Mix half of the processed mixture into a small pot and set it aside.
4. Wet one’s hands, and make one-inch balls of the scallop mixture, and refrigerate on a flat plate for one hour.
5. Put sesame seeds on another flat plate, and a sheet of waxed paper on a flat work surface and roll the cold scallop balls in the sesame seeds until they are well coated, then deep-fry them in the hot oil until lightly browned, and take them out with a slotted spoon. Roll them in paper towels, and put them in a bowl on the dining table.
6. Bring the set aside vinegar mixture to the boil, then pour it into a heat-proof bowl and set it on the table next to the fried scallop balls. Diners can dip a scallop ball into the heated sauce, if they wish, or eat the sesame balls plain.

Flavor and Fortune is a magazine of: