Spicy Asian Salad with Scallops (or Tofu)

Writing this blog has made Ruth realize how much tofu she eats. It’s kind of embarrassing. But the beauty of these recipes is that nobody else has to eat tofu—they’re free to substitute whatever they like. In this case, Tim sautéed scallops, and they were delicious.

This recipe was adapted from Ellie Krieger’s The Food You Crave. Ellie’s recipe features beef; we’ve used all kinds of fish, but chicken would also work. It's become one of our favorite quickie dinners, especially when we have a lot of lettuce we need to use up.

We got the scallops on sale at our local supermarket, the ridiculously named Big Y: half a pound for $4.49. (An advantage of the fancy-salad dinner is that you can really stretch an expensive protein by using much less than you would if it were a straight entrée.) Big Y also had a sale on organic lettuce mix: two five-ounce packages for $4. 

Recipe

1 ½ T. lime juice
1 ½ T. soy sauce
1 ½ T. peanut oil
1 T. sugar
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 t. minced ginger
¼ to ½ t. chili-garlic sauce, or to taste

1 five-ounce package mesclun or other salad mix, or 1 smallish head of lettuce
½ cup chopped cilantro (more if you're a cilantro freak)
1 shallot, sliced and separated into rings

your choice of protein, grilled or sautéed

1. Whisk together lime juice, soy sauce, peanut oil, sugar, garlic, ginger, and chili-garlic paste. You may need to whisk a few times to dissolve the sugar.

2. In a good-size salad bowl, mix greens, cilantro, and shallot rings. Toss with dressing. 

3. Top with grilled or sautéed protein of your choice, or serve as a side salad. Serves two, generously.