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Ching-He Huang's crispy scallops

This is one of Ching's favourite starters from her new book Chinese Food in Minutes. These crispy scallops are quick, tasty and perfect for a romantic starter for two. You can make this dish as hot or mild as you like, just leave out the chilli or add more in - it's up to you. From Ching's Chinese Food in Minutes by Ching-He Huang.

10 raw scallops on the shell
1tbsp groundnut oil
½tsp Sichuan peppercorns
1tbsp Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
1tsp light soy sauce
1 pinch of brown sugar
½ lemon
1 medium red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2tbsp vegetable stock
Mixed fresh herbs to garnish
Mixed salad leaves to serve
For the crispy seaweed and leek:
1 small baby leek, diced and dried thoroughly
Potato flour or cornflour
300ml/10fl oz groundnut oil
1head of green pak choy, leaf part only, finely shredded and dried thoroughly
Coarse sea salt
Light brown sugar

Firstly make the crispy seaweed and leek. Lightly coat the leek in potato flour or cornflour (no need to coat the pak choy). Heat the groundnut oil in a large pan to 180ºC/350ºF or until a cube of bread dropped in turns golden brown in 15 seconds and floats to the surface.

Using a slotted spoon, lower the leek and pak choy pieces into the oil and deep-fry for 5 mins until they turn golden brown. Lift out and drain on absorbent kitchen paper, then add some sea salt and brown sugar and toss gently with your fingers so the seasoning lightly coats the crispy seaweed and leek.

Remove the scallops from their shells, then remove and discard the hard muscle on the side. Leave the coral on, if you like, or remove it. Trim and rinse the scallops and pat dry.

Heat a wok over a high heat and add the groundnut oil, then add the Sichuan peppercorns and heat for a few seconds to release their aroma. Add the scallops to the wok and leave to settle for 1 min, then toss the wok and the scallops. As the scallops start to turn opaque, add the rice wine or sherry, followed by the soy sauce. Cook for a further min, then add the sugar and squeeze of fresh lemon juice and sprinkle the chilli into the wok. Transfer the scallops into a dish. Add the stock to the wok and heat through, then turn off the heat.

To serve, put the scallops onto serving plates and drizzle with the remaining juices from the wok. Sprinkle with the crispy garnish and chopped chilli from the wok, dress with fresh mixed herbs and serve immediately with mixed salad leaves.