Stir-Fried Scallops With Lettuce

From Wei-Chuan’s Cookbook, Chinese Cuisine. This is an authentic chinese recipe. The dried scallops or dried shrimp lends a complex aroma to the clean crisp lettuce. Dried scallops are expensive, but they lend a sweet seafood taste and is much preferred, the dried shrimp is tasty too, but the flavor is more robust. Although I made this as is with the dried scallops –it was excellent, and I loved the texture of the lettuce, I find iceberg void of the nutrients of true green leafy vegetables favored by the Chinese. Therefore, this dish can be made with romaine lettuce, baby bok choy or pea shoot leaves (which are abundant in late winter and early spring in chinatowns in major cities.) We actually ordered this dish with scallop/pea shoot leaves recently over Chinese New Year in a restaurant and it would’ve been tastier with this sauce!