Golden Fried Rice with Scallops 带子金镶银炒饭...

This is a flavorful, rich and nutritious one dish meal... and a popular pick in my homie menu as my family loves it very much... a MUST-TRY! Here’s the recipe...

The main ingredients are: cooked white rice, fresh scallops 鲜带子, Chinese sausages 手工加瘦腊肠, fish cakes, fresh corn kernels, carrots, capsicums, onions, garlic and eggs.

Scallop 带子 is full of goodness - it is a very good source vitamin B12 which is needed by the body to convert a chemical named homocysteine that damages blood vessel walls into other benign chemicals. Scallop is also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium and potassium which are essential for healthy functions of the heart and they also help to prevent and control high blood pressure. The high omega-3 fatty acids content is also especially good for protection against colorectal cancer. For more info on the nutritional benefits of scallop, you may refer to this WHFoods website. Scallops also come in dried forms - 瑶柱 or 干贝 and are used extensively in Chinese cuisines. A couple of earlier dishes here also make use of dried scallops: Salmon Bee Hoon Soup 三文鱼米粉汤 that uses scallops to improve the flavor of the soup base and Teochew Rice Dumplings aka Bak Chang Part (I) 潮州双拼肉粽 (上) where scallops are a key component of the filling.

The preparations... wash veggies and dice. Soak Chinese mushrooms in hot water till soften, drain and dice. Remove the membrane of the Chinese sausages and dice. Dice fish cakes. Slice a fresh corn vertically along its length and separate the kernels. Beat eggs lightly to get a nice smooth mixture. Mince garlic.

Let’s start... heat a little oil in a non-stick pan, pour in cooked rice and egg mixture, stir fry evenly to ensure that every grain of rice is coated with the egg... and this is the golden rice 金镶银 (i.e. the silvery rice grains are encapsulated by a layer of golden egg mixture). Remove the rice and set aside. Fry scallops in a little oil, season with a little salt and ground black pepper, remove and set aside. In the same pan, fry minced garlic, onion and dried mushrooms in a little oil till fragrant, stir in the veggies and fry thoroughly. Next, add diced sausages, fish cakes and the cooked golden rice and continue to fry till the rice grains jump in the pan (yes, you can literally see them "dancing happily"... :p), add in a little soy sauce and pepper to taste and voilà, it’s done! Before you serve the dish, you may arrange the cooked scallops on top of the rice and garnish with some Chinese celery.

Hope you try this savoury Golden Fried Rice with Scallops 带子金镶银炒饭... Cheers!