Hello fellow foodies!
I'm Causa Nova, and welcome to:

~COOKING WITH CAUSA!~

This is my first food post on Steemit, glad to be here and share my culinary experiences with everyone!

Today, we're going to make:

Giant Garlic Shrimp & Bay Scallops with Vegetable Fried Rice

This is my first time cooking with scallops, and my first time cooking such large shrimp. The recipe I originally utilize has smaller shrimp (usually 26/30 to 51/60) so I had to make some cooking time/temp adjustments in accordance. Note that your stove time and ultimately your cooking sequence may vary, so follow your own flow when it comes to the grub.

You're gonna need two large pans, or a wok and a large saucepan

Bear in mind:

I used a power burner for my wok and a normal burner for the seafood.

SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS

12 count size (6/8) prawns or ~ 1.5 lbs of any size shrimp.

I don't peel the shells off until right before I cook them. I peel and de-vein them while the pans are on the stove doing their thing. I like to be efficient and it helps pass the time as I wait for the dishes to cook.

1/3rd lb of (80/120) bay scallops.

I didn't thaw them out completely because I wanted to use them for temperature control. I recommend using small scallops as these will help balance well with the giant prawns and let out a lot of flavor.
1/2 bulb - 3/4 bulb of freshly peeled garlic.

Freshly peeled is best. A much more complex flavor than pre-peeled cloves from the store. Use less or more to personal taste.

1 white pearl onion.
3-4 stalks of green onion.

Again, use more or less of both types of onions to personal taste.
fresh ginger root, ~1 and 1/4 inch piece.

I like to cut off the outer skin of the ginger root before cooking with it, I think this helps the more mellow flavors in the ginger come out and keeps some bitterness that's present in the skin out. Ginger has a spicy herb taste, is loaded with nutrients, minerals, and gives you great health benefits besides! Go for the fresh stuff if at all possible.
3-4 stalks of celery.
1/3rd of a daikon radish, sliced. (approximately 3/4th of a cup)

Daikon radish is used extensively in Asian dishes. It imparts a characteristic zing and a nice crisp texture to dishes. Search your local Asian inspired supermarket if you can't find it around.
5.3 oz (or one pack) seafood, enoki, shitake, or brown button mushrooms.

Mushrooms with everything! Any type of mushroom can be used here besides the classic crimini white or brown mushroom. The flavors imparted by the fungus are imperative to the dish's savoriness.
5-6 inner leaves of napa cabbage.

Napa cabbage has a very crisp texture and imparts a strong veggie flavor. The vitamins and minerals help keep your body powered up too! I use the younger leaves inside the cabbage head as they have a mellower flavor profile and a nicer texture.
12 oz bean sprouts!
1-1.5 cups of cooked rice. (any kind)

Pre-cook the rice and if you can, cool it down. I usually use leftovers whenever I prepare a fried rice dish because it lets me regulate my temperatures a little more. Don't use freshly cooked hot rice as it'll mush up while mixing, let it cool first then fry it.
Half a lemon

* Some good ol' butter!

You only need a little bit, but I'll let you decide what that means. (for me it's about half an oz of butter for flavor and health balance)

And finally:

Sriracha to taste
Soy sauce to taste (lower sodium is best)
Olive oil for frying (healthy)
Habanero sauce (ONLY A DROP. gives a kick of flavor and spice)
Brown mustard to taste
Coriander (approximately two tablespoons)
White pepper (heavy amounts)
Black pepper (heavy amounts)
pinch of salt

I encourage exploration of culinary preferences and self-teaching, so try your favorite spices and marinades to your preference and share your results in the replies!

COOKING TIME!

*Note that when it is important to distinguish between the PAN and the WOK for the purpose of the recipe, they will be capitalized as a sight aid (just to be sure).

Step 1.

Oil your pan and wok. Apply about a third more oil to the WOK than the PAN to account for all the veggies. Turn the heat on your WOK burner to high (near max) and your PAN to medium (halfway).

Step 2.

Finely chop your garlic and add a 1/3rd of it to your PAN and 2/3rds to your WOK. Turn the WOK's flame to medium to prevent burning the garlic as you start work on the veggies. It's advised to use more garlic in the wok than the pan. You don't want to overload the large shrimp's natural flavor, and you're going to want more in the wok to help flavor the incoming veggies.

Step 3.

Cut your pearl onion into slivers and throw it into your PAN with your butter. Add a touch of salt on top of the PAN and lightly move everything together around the PAN to partially coat it.

Step 4.

Cut your celery into slim pieces and add them to your WOK. Turn the heat up on your PAN to medium-high (a bit past halfway).

Step 5.

The first round of veggies!

Cut your radish slices into medium chunks (think breakfast potatoes, little cubes or triangles)
Your mushrooms in half across the middle, & your green onions into 1/8th inch-1/4 inch slices.
Add the radish to the WOK first.
Add the bottom half of the mushrooms to the WOK next and the top half (the parts that still look like mushrooms) to the PAN.
Add the green onions to both the pan and the wok. Add about a 1/3 more in the WOK than the PAN.
Last for the first veggie additions are the bean sprouts. Add all 12 oz of sprouts to your WOK.
Stir both the pan and wok with a utensil. I use a wooden spoon.

Step 6.

Chop your cabbage into thin slivers and add them to your WOK.

So far, so good. This whole process up until now should have taken you maybe around 15 minutes to complete with all your ingredients on hand. At this point you're going to want to clean and add your shrimp. How do you know it's just the right time? Look in your PAN and see if your garlic has browned up a bit and your onions are starting to caramelize.

Step 7.

Peel and de-vein your shrimp. Keeping the shells on helps to keep the prawns more tender, but cooked properly you can maintain a good consistency regardless. Cleaning your shrimp now gives your veggies time to cook down and start to release their water as their cells lyse from the heat. Work quickly in any case though, don't want to over cook! If you have shrimp that's already been cleaned, well, you're fancy and life is easier for you. Take about a 5 minute break.

Once you're done cleaning them, throw them bad boys in your PAN.

Time to spice things up.

ONLY A DROP IN EACH PAN.

Step 8

Add your spices and sauces to your dishes. Add dry spices and herbs first before sauces, it's easier to mix that way. I advise using more soy sauce in the WOK and only a little in the PAN.
After adding your spices, mix the WOK well but don't mix the shrimp for another minute or so. Let them cook on the side they're on, then flip them and mix things around well.

If you let the shrimp cook long enough, they should look like this or a little lighter in color when you flip them:

Turn both your burners up to high heat (near max).

Step 9.

Add your scallops to the PAN and squeeze your lemon's juice over it. Try not to get any seeds in the pan.

Mix the veggies every 30 seconds and turn the shrimp every so often. Mix the WOK into a crater so you can see how much water is in the mixture as it boils. There will start to be a lot of water in both the pan and wok for a good while. You're going to want to get the wok dry and try to keep the pan moist and saucy. The still frozen/very cold scallops help to keep the shrimp from over-cooking as you take care of the wok.

Notice all the water in the WOK? Turn the heat all the way up to very high (max) to get it boiling, and your veggies frying just right.

As you notice water begin to pool in the PAN, reduce the heat to medium-high (partially past halfways).

After some time, your PAN and WOK should look like this:

Notice how much water has boiled away?

Step 10.

Once your WOK has become pretty dry (very little water left when you hollow the pan/the veggies look like they're about to stick/burn), add some olive oil to it. Don't put too much, just put a little more than what you first put in to fry the veggies with, which shouldn't have been an excessive amount). Add to this your already cooked rice and more seasonings to taste.

Mix the rice in GENTLY. If you get too rough, you'll mush the rice and then you'll have more of a casserole than fried rice!

Final Step.

As the rice fries, the shrimp will be re-heated back to boiling now. The way you can tell if the PAN is done is if the scallops are cooked to the point where they're chewy yet tender. At that point, turn the heat up to very high (max) for about 30 seconds to sear the outside slightly and let the dish cook fully (if it's still a little undercooked, you might have moved quickly).

COOKING WITH CAUSA #1: Giant Garlic Shrimp & Bay Scallops w/ Veggie Fried Rice