This example of eastern cuisine combines wonderful Sichuan flavours of garlic, chilli and ginger with the sweetness of scallops. Sichuan scallops can be served with either steamed jasmine rice or noodles.

1tbsp vegetable oil

2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

2 green shallots, finely chopped

500g scallops, including roe

2tsp Yeos sesame oil

1tbsp Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry

2tsp sweet soy sauce (or kecap manis)

2tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp hot chilli sauce

1tbsp tomato sauce

1tsp sugar

(1) Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

(2) Heat a wok or frypan until hot. Add the vegetable oil to the wok and allow the oil to become very hot. Add the grated ginger and grated garlic to the pan and stirfry for a few seconds only.

(3) Add the green shallots and scallops to the ginger/garlic mixture and continue to stirfry for about a minute.

(4) Pour the sauce ingredients into the wok. Stirfry for about three minutes or until the scallops are thoroughly coated with the sauce and just cooked. Take care not to overcook the scallops. They need to be just firm.

(5) Add the sesame oil to the pan with the scallops and continue to stirfry for about a minute.

For a complete change of flavour, we now include the classic flavours of Scotland into our scallop cuisine.

You will need a heavy-based frypan with a lid for this recipe.

6 rashers of rindless bacon, cut into strips

1tsp ground turmeric

500g scallops, with roe

1 sprig thyme and parsley

6 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup low fat thickened cream

Chives to garnish

(1) Fry the bacon strips until crisp in a heavy-based frypan. Remove the bacon from the pan and place to one side. Drain away any excess fat in the frypan.

(2) Reduce the heat under the pan and add the turmeric. Heat the turmeric in the bacon drippings for about one minute. Now add the scallops to the pan along with the thyme, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns. Pour the white wine into the pan (careful with the steam), stir well and cover the pan with the lid.

(3) After a minute or two, test one of the scallops with the tip of a knife to see if it is cooked. The scallop should be soft when cooked.

(4) When cooked, remove the scallops from the pan and place to one side. Stir the cream into the liquid in the pan and bring to a simmer.

(5) Serve the scallops into individual bowls with the sauce poured over. Garnish with the crispy strips of bacon and some snipped chives.

I like to use different coloured capsicums in this Mediterranean/Asian fusion recipe.

1 small red capsicum

1 small yellow capsicum

1 small green capsicum

1tbsp olive oil

500g scallops, with roe

2 golden shallots, finely chopped

2tbsp finely chopped flat leafed parsley

1/2 cup dry white wine

(1) Place the whole capsicums under either a hot grill (turning them frequently) or in a hot oven (roasting). When the capsicum has softened and blistered, remove them from the heat. Place the capsicums in a plastic bag and seal. This aids the removal of the capsicum skin. After five minutes or so, peel and deseed the capsicums. Finely slice the flesh and place onto a serving dish.

(2) Heat the olive oil in a frypan, and then add the scallops and shallots to the pan. Stirfry for a couple of minutes before adding half the parsley and the white wine. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover the pan and simmer for about five minutes.

(3) Remove the scallops from the pan and place to one side. Strain the contents of the frypan, reserving the liquid. Return the liquid to the pan and bring to a boil, until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove the pan from the heat and add the scallops and the remaining parsley.

(4) To serve, pile the scallops over the capsicum strips and pour over the sauce. Excellent with crusty bread to mop up the juices.