XO Sauce Asparagus & Scallops Lunch Box
This XO Sauce Asparagus & Scallops Lunch Box looks like (to me) a Chinese New Year (CNY) themed lunch box. No, I did not plan this at all. It was CNY season so naturally, I put whatever I cooked and available in the kitchen into my packed lunch boxes. I do like the unexpected festive vibe of this lunch box.
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My lunchbox (I’m using Ikea’s 365+ rectangular lunchbox) consisted of 3 compartments:
- Main dish: XO sauce asaparus & scallops. This seafood stir-fry is the main dish for the lunch box.
- Steamed rice. I cooked Japanese short grain rice with added 16-grains.
- Salad. The salad base is chopped romaine lettuce, topped with mandarin oranges which we have an abundance of at home.
MAIN DISH – XO Sauce Asparagus & Scallops
Stir-fry asparagus & scallops with XO sauce – You can check out the step-by-step photos here for the detailed recipe.
It’s a really balanced dish with scallops and veggies (asparagus, yellow chives & carrots).
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ORANGE SALAD
Due to an abundance of mandarin oranges in the house, I top the salad with mandarin oranges. The orange is de-seeded for ease of eating and cut to wedges to fit into the lunch box compartment.
The orange salad dressing is really simple! My S$2 Daiso bento salad dressing bottle comes in handy as it comes with measurements markers on it. Just mix orange juice, few drops lemon juice, vinegar, low-sodium soy & honey along with a tiny pinch of salt, shake together and its done. You can also make a batch of this orange vinaigrette recipe and bottle them when needed.
ASSEMBLE LUNCHBOX
Pack everything in a 3-compartment lunchbox along with your choice of rice (mine was Japanese 16-grain rice). I recommend keeping the lunchbox in the fridge (or a cooler bag with an ice pack) due to the presence of seafood. When ready to eat, just heat up the main dish (add a splash of water to prevent drying out) & rice compartments in the microwave oven.
XO Sauce Asparagus & Scallops Lunch Box
I am using Ikea’s 365+ rectangular lunch box to hold the rice, main dish and the salad separately. You can use any microwave-safe lunchbox with a similar 1-litre capacity.
Ingredients:
- 2 servings cooked rice (I’m using Japanese multigrain rice)
XO SAUCE STIR-FRY
- 12 scallops (around 300g) if using frozen, thaw then pat dry on paper towels
- 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp cooking oil divided
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 thin ginger slices julienned
- 8 thick asparagus spears (350g) bottom ends trimmed, stems shaved
- 8 carrot flowers
- 50g yellow chives (or 1 celery stem, julienned)
- 1 tbsp Chinese wine (Hua Tiao/Shaoxing)
- 1 tbsp water or chicken stock
- 2 heaped tbsp XO sauce
- 1-2 tbsp water or chicken stock as needed
(A) Sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp Chinese wine (Hua Tiao/Shaoxing)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 3 dashes white pepper powder
Orange Salad
- 2 servings chopped romaine lettuce (or any salad leaves)
- half mandarin orange deseeded & cut to wedges
- 2 x 15 ml bottled orange vinaigrette salad dressing (or any fave dressing)
Directions:
- Make main dish: stir-fry XO sauce asparagus & scallops. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in wok. Pan fry scallops on both sides until lightly seared. Set scallops aside on a plate. Add remaining oil in wok. Stir fry garlic, ginger, asparagus & carrot for 1 minute. Add yellow chives, Chinese wine and water (or stock). Stir fry briskly until the chives are just withered. Add XO sauce, seasonings (A) and 1-2 tbsp water/stock if the sauce is too dry. Stir fry until the contents are well mixed. Finally return the scallops to the pan to coat them evenly in the sauce.
- Assemble Lunch Box. Divide the main dish, cooked rice and salad equally among two lunch boxes (I’m using Ikea’s 365). Pack each lunch box with a bottled sauce.
- Reheating Tips. For maximum freshness, keep the lunch box in a fridge or a cooler bag with ice pack. Microwave the XO sauce asparagus & scallops (adds a splash of water over the contents to prevent drying out) and rice compartments before eating.