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Steamed Cantonese scallops with garlic sauce, glass noodles and pickled cucumbers

Steamed Cantonese scallops with garlic sauce, glass noodles and pickled cucumbers

Crisp pickled cucumbers provide sharp contrast to the warm seafood dish, creating perfect balance in this classic Cantonese preparation.

Prep: overnight
Cook: 10 to 30 mins
Serves: Serves 2
Dietary: Dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free
By Justin Tsang
From Saturday Kitchen Recipes

 

Nutri-Score B reflects excellent nutritional balance from lean scallops, minimal oil, and fresh pickled cucumbers.
Per serving: approximately 380 kcal, 22g fat (3g saturates), 28g carbs (12g sugars), 2g fibre, 24g protein. Steamed Cantonese scallops deliver protein-rich seafood with controlled calories.

Equipment

Ingredients

For the pickled cucumbers

  • 3 small cucumbers, trimmed, cut in half lengthways and sliced into sticks
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp white sugar

For the pickling liquid

  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2–3 Chinese dried chillies
  • ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tbsp white sugar
  • 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • ¼ tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

For the steamed Cantonese scallops

  • 90g/3¼oz glass noodles
  • 6 fresh large scallops in the shell, cleaned, skirt removed and roe attached
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
  • 100ml/3½fl oz vegetable oil
  • 2 spring onions, sliced into thin strips and shocked in iced water
  • few fresh coriander leaves

For the garlic sauce

  • 100ml/3½fl oz vegetable oil
  • 6 garlic cloves, crushed
  • pinch salt
  • pinch sugar
  • 1 red chilli, very finely chopped

For the soy and oyster sauce

  • 6 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1½ tsp white sugar
  • 1 bird’s-eye chilli, sliced

Customise

  • Replace glass noodles with mung bean vermicelli; similar texture
  • Use rice wine vinegar instead of Chinese black vinegar for milder tang
  • Substitute king prawns for scallops when unavailable
  • Swap Sichuan peppercorns for white pepper in pickling liquid

Method

Pickled Cucumbers (Prepare overnight ahead)

  1. Salt your cucumbers. Slice cucumbers into sticks and toss with fine salt and white sugar in a bowl – let them sit for 1 hour to draw out water and crisp up beautifully.
  2. Drain excess liquid. After an hour, you’ll see liquid pooling; simply drain it off so your pickles stay crunchy.
  3. Mix pickling liquid. Smash garlic cloves, add dried chillies, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, sugar, Chinese black vinegar, light and dark soy sauces, plus sesame oil – stir until sugar dissolves completely.
  4. Pickle thoroughly. Pour this aromatic liquid over drained cucumbers, toss well, then chill for several hours or overnight. (Make this first – it gets better with time!)

Garlic Sauce & Soy Oyster Sauce (Prep while cucumbers pickle, 15 mins)

  1. Infuse garlic oil safely. Heat vegetable oil in saucepan over medium-high (watch carefully!), add garlic in thirds: first batch 1 minute, second 45 seconds, then off heat add final garlic with salt and sugar. (Hot oil splatters – stand back!)
  2. Prepare soy oyster sauce. Mix light soy sauce, oyster sauce, white sugar, and sliced bird’s-eye chilli – this balances salty, sweet, and spicy perfectly for scallops.
  3. Prep glass noodles. Soak glass noodles in cold water 20 minutes, drain, then snip with scissors into manageable lengths – they expand when steamed.

Scallops Assembly & Steaming (Final 10 mins active)

  1. Prep scallop shells. Detach scallops from shells, wash thoroughly to remove grit, reserve clean shells – pat scallops dry.
  2. Marinate briefly. Toss cleaned scallops with Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry in a bowl – 5 minutes rests flavour.
  3. Assemble each shell. Add small handful soaked glass noodles to each shell base, top with one scallop.
  4. Sauce generously. Spoon 1 tsp soy-oyster sauce over each scallop, then generous spoonful garlic sauce – the magic happens here!
  5. Steam perfectly. Arrange filled shells on steamer plate, steam 4-6 minutes until scallops just turn opaque – don’t overcook!
  6. Garnish beautifully. Top steamed Cantonese scallops with iced-water spring onion strips and fresh coriander leaves for crunch and colour.
  7. Serve immediately. Plate hot scallops alongside chilled pickled cucumbers – the temperature contrast makes this dish sing.

Tip: Buy freshest scallops with roe attached for best flavour. Prep everything ahead for stress-free cooking. Pair steamed Cantonese scallops with garlic sauce and glass noodles with chilled Sauvignon Blanc or Tsingtao beer.

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