Dried scallops

The sweetest of the bivalves: a fat, round muscle, often with its coral roe, that caramelises deeply in a hot pan and stays translucent in the middle.

What to do with it

Classics built on it

FujianBuddha jumps over the wallA banquet soup of abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, scallops, meats and mushrooms, sealed in a jar with rice wine and simmered for hours.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Hand-dived king scallops: Picked by divers; cleaner, less sandy, and kinder to the seabed than dredged.
Queenies: Small queen scallops — a quick sear, or grilled in the shell.
Dry, not wet: 'Wet' scallops are soaked in phosphate to add weight, and won't brown. Ask for dry, or buy them in the shell.

Knowing it

Where to buy: In the shell and alive if you can — shut, or closing when tapped. Shucked, they should be ivory, not bright white and sitting in milky liquid.
Worth knowing: Pat them very dry, salt just before cooking, and sear in a smoking pan with a little oil for 60–90 seconds a side, adding butter at the end. Cook the roe separately, or dry it in a low oven and grate it like bottarga.

Kitchens that keep it in

Fujian province, south-eastern ChinaFujianThe cooking of China's south-eastern coast: clear soups, seafood, the sweet-sour red of fermented rice lees, and the street food the Hokkien carried across Asia.9 classics