Recipe by Mighty Spice Cookbook author, John Gregory-SmithFor many years my brother Tom has been a loyal eating companion of mine, a wingman, who loves his food and is also real fun to go out with. Annoyingly he’s moved to Hong Kong with his lovely wife Rachel to live, which makes dinner a bit more difficult to organize. Tom’s first choice whenever we do get to go out is something with scallops, so these beautiful, Asian-inspired scallops are here to keep him happy. Now all he has to do is cook them for me.
Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat. When smoking hot, chuck in the garlic and red chilies and stir-fry 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the onion and stir-fry 1 minute, then tip in the scallops and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes longer, or until the scallops start to turn golden at the edges.
Pour in the soy sauce and fish sauce and sprinkle in the sugar and black pepper. Mix well and stir-fry 1 minute, or until the scallops are just cooked through and tender.
Throw in the basil leaves, mix well and serve immediately. You can use scallop shells for presentation, if you like.