Not Your Typical Chinese Take Out....

I would say my two favorite cuisines to cook are Italian and Chinese. Both focus on complex flavor from simple ingredients. So I recently got The Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo who is the proclaimed Julia Childs of Chinese cuisine (that's a strong statement). It's definitely not a book for beginner cooks, but it really focuses on Chinese techniques and ingredients in Chinese food. So this weeks dinner is Chinese and it's all seafood. This isn't sweet n sour pork and chicken fried rice. This is real Chinese food.

Starting: Boiled Edamame w/ Star Anise and Ginger
Main 1: Shrimp Lo Mein
Main 2: Panko Encrusted Sea Scallops w/ Citrus Salt
Main 3: Mussels w/ Black Bean-Garlic Sauce

Boiled Edamame w/ Star Anise and Ginger
Difficulty: 2/10
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 25 min

• 1 pound frozen edamame, still in pods
• 1 small ginger root, smashed
• 4 star anise
• 2 green onions, cut into 4" segments
• 3 quarts water
• 4 tbspn kosher salt

1. In a pot, bring water to a boil. Add salt, star anise, green onions, and ginger. 
2. Rinse edamame under cold water and add into boiling water.
3. Let edamame boil for about 20 min under med heat. After 25 min, taste and check one edamame for firmness and flavor. Boil longer if needed.
4. Drain and serve.

Panko Encrusted Sea Scallops w/ Citrus Salt
Difficulty: 6/10
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 20 min

• 20 large sea scallops
• 2 cups AP flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 3 tbspn water
• Canola oil

1. Clean the scallops and make sure the muscles on the side are removed. Most of the time, if you're getting the scallops fresh from your fish monger, they will already be removed. Pat scallops dry with a  paper towel.
2. In a bowl, combine both eggs and the water to create an egg wash.
3. Now, let's assembly the dredging assembly line: egg wash, AP flour, and panko. Dredge scallops in AP flour. Then coat in egg wash. Finally, coat with panko bread crumbs.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
5. Heat a frying pan under med-high heat. Pour the canola oil into a frying pan so that it comes about 1/2" from the bottom.
6. Place breaded scallops in hot oil. Let them cook for about 3 min on each side or until they are golden brown.
7. Remove them from the frying pan and pop them in the oven for about 3 min to finish cooking. Depending on the size of your scallops, they may not need to be finished in the oven. Pan frying might be all you need to cook them all the way through. You want to make sure that you do not overcook them!! Nothing sucks more than overcooked seafood...Fail!
8. Remove the scallops from the oven. Season with the Citrus Salt. Plate and serve.

Citrus Salt

•  2 tbspn kosher salt
• 1 tbspn orange zest
• 1/4 tbspn szechuan peppercorns, toasted and ground in a spice grinder
• 1/2 tbspn fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tspn five spice powder