Categories: Seafood, Usenet 
      Yield: 4 servings 
  
      1 lb Scallops, preferably 
           -the large (sea) kind, 
           -but small bay scallops 
           -should be ok 
    1/2 lb Snow peas 
    1/2 c  White wine 
      1 tb Lime juice 
      3 tb Nam Pla (Thai 
           -fish sauce) 
      3    Garlic cloves, chopped 
      2 tb Fresh ginger, chopped 
      4 tb Butter 
           Pepper, freshly ground 
  
  Start some rice cooking, so it will be done when the scallops are done.  If 
  you're using large (sea) scallops, slice them into strips about 1/4 inch 
  thick.  If you're using small (bay) scallops, don't bother slicing them. 
   
  Rinse and drain the snow peas and remove the strings.  Cut the pods into 
  1-inch lengths. 
   
  Heat a small saucepan or skillet, then put in a little butter.  Add the 
  ginger and saute for 30 seconds, then add the garlic and saute for another 
  30 seconds. 
   
  Add the wine and fish sauce, and reduce the mixture by half, stirring 
  often. Keep this hot during the next few steps, but stir it so that it 
  doesn't burn. 
   
  Heat a skillet large enough to hold the scallops in one layer, and melt the 
  rest of the butter.  Over moderately high heat, add the scallops and pepper 
  to taste. Add the snow peas and stir-fry until the peas have change color 
  and the scallops have turned opaque, about 2 minutes. Don't overcook the 
  scallops, just cook them until they've lost their translucent look. 
   
  Add the sauce and lime juice to the skillet and stir everything for a few 
  seconds, until well-mixed.  Serve immediately. 
   
  NOTES: 
   
  *  Sauteed scallops with snow peas in fish sauce -- This is something I 
  invented with what I had around after I bought some scallops on impulse. 
  It's inspired partly by a recipe of Madeline Kamman's and partly by Thai 
  and Chinese recipes, although scallop recipes are rare in my Asian 
  cookbooks. It's not spicy and probably has very little to do with real Thai 
  cooking, but the taste of Nam Pla (Thai fish sauce) is an interesting 
  complement to the scallops. Serve it with rice. 
   
  *  Nam Pla is available in asian markets or some supermarkets.  Substitute 
  soy sauce if you cannot find it. Do not add salt; the Nam Pla is salty 
  enough. 
   
  : Difficulty:  easy. 
  : Time:  10 minutes preparation, 10 minutes cooking. 
  : Precision:  Experiment with the proportions. 
   
  : Jeffrey Mogul 
  : DEC Western Research Lab, Palo Alto, California 
  : {ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!mogul, mogul@decwrl.DEC.COM 
   
  : Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust