Sue's Recipes and Other Stories

Scallops with Sweet Chilli Sauce (4)

Ingredients

Sweet Chilli Sauce

10 plump garlic clovespeeled
4large red chilliesstems removed
3thumbs fresh gingerpeeled and roughly chopped
1thumb galangalpeeled and roughly chopped
8 lime leaves
3 lemon grass stems2 outer leaves removed, top third discarded and finely chopped
1cup fresh coriander leaves
1 1/2cups caster sugar
100ml cider vinegar
50ml asian fish sauce
50ml tamari

Instructions

Put the first seven ingredients of the chilli sauce in a food processor and puree to a coarse paste.
Put the sugar in a saucepan with 4 tbsps water and place on a moderate heat, stirring well until the sugar dissolves. When it has remove the spoon and turn the heat high , Boil for 5-8 minutes and do not stir until it has turned a dark caramel colour, being careful not to allow it to burn.
Now stir in the paste, return to the boil and add the last three sauce ingredients. Return to the boil and simmer for 1 minute. Leave to cool.
Lightly oil the scallops with the sesame oil and season, then grill each side on a griddle or grill for 90 seconds. Sit the scallops on a bed of watercress, put a dollop of creme fraiche on top and drizzle generously with the sweet chilli sauce.