GENERAL TSO'S SHRIMP AND SCALLOPS WITH BROCCOLI AND SAFFRON RICE

Steps:

• 1. Measure 3 1/2 Cups water into large pan, bring to good boil on highest temp. Add butter and rice. Reduce heat to low (1 or 2 on an electric burner, or set fire to just inside the edge of pan if using gas.) Cover, simmer about 20 minutes.
• 2. As soon as rice is simmering, rinse shrimp, scallops, and broccoli under warm water, separately, to remove all traces of ice and to finish thawing gently. NOTE: Be very careful of the way you handle scallops because they fall apart easily. Also you can devein and peel shrimp at this time, if necessary.
• 3. Place large DRY chicken fryer, frypan, or wok on burner, set temp to medium high (fryers) or high (wok.) After pan is hot, add oils. Allow oil to blend, and come to hot temp, without scorching. A wok can continue at highest temp as long as it does not smoke, but fryers should be turned to stage 6 or 7 on elec stove gauge, at the highest, to prevent overheating. CAUTION: many traditional woks are round bottomed, use care with these if you have small children underfoot while cooking, or use a flat bottomed pan or frypan until they are older.
• 4. When oil is hot, add shrimp, stirfry until shrimp is lightly browned. Remove from pan with a strainer spoon, set aside in large bowl.
• 5. Add scallops to oil, fry until lightly browned, turn gently, continuing until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from pan with strainer spoon, set aside in same bowl as shrimp.
• 6. Add broccoli to oil, stirfry until broccoli is softened but not limp. Remove from oil with strainer spoon while it still retains bright color, and set aside with shrimp and scallops.
• 7. Empty most of the oil from the pan and return it to the heat, turning the temperature of the burner down to about medium. It is not necessary to scrape or clean the pan at this point, as what oil remains will add flavor to the sauce.
• 8. Add full bottle of General Tso sauce to oil in pan, adding the additional 1/4 C warm water to bottle, and shaking to remove remaining sauce from sides of bottle. Add this liquid to pan.
• 9. Add sugar or honey to sauce in pan. Add optional red hot pepper flakes if desired, to taste. Stir.
• 10. Bring to a rolling boil, allow to thicken by keeping at a rolling boil approximately 2 or 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until extra water has evaporated, and sugar has melted into the sauce as it thickens.
• 11. Reduce heat to low (1 or 2) and return shrimp, scallops and broccoli to sauce in pan. Turn gently to fully coat all pieces with the sauce.
• 12. Rice should be done. Fluff with a fork.
• 13. Serve together, either serving Tso on a bed of rice, or serve them side by side. (There should be plenty of extra sauce to flavor rice, if desired.)