“Green Jade” is a vegetarian dish of broccoli, string beans and snow peas. When scallops added, the dish becomes “Green Jade Scallops.”
 
The Chinese-American restaurant dish of “Green Jade Scallops” contains scallops and broccoli (the green jade) along with other ingredients, such as Chinese black mushrooms, red peppers, snow peas and water chestnuts. A white sauce (made from egg whites) often accompanies the dish. A restaurant review of Hartsdale’s Hunan Manor in the Westchester section of the New York (NY) Times, printed on November 29, 1979, stated:
 
“Among the best sampled was the green jade scallops, perfectly fresh in a delicately flavored sauce among broccoli (the jade), Chinese mushrooms and red peppers.”
 
Another “Green Jade” dish is “Green Jade Chicken.”
 
   
25 November 1979, New York (NY) Times, “Hunan Tastes and Parking, Too” by M. H. Reed, Westchester sec., pg. 19, col. 2
(Hunan Manor, 149 South Central Avenue, Hartsdale.—ed.)
Among the best sampled was the green jade scallops, perfectly fresh in a delicately flavored sauce among broccoli (the jade), Chinese mushrooms and red peppers.
   
Google Books
Gourmet
Volume 41, Issues 7-12
1981
Pg. 112:
Q. I would like the recipe for a delicious concoction called green jade scallops served at the Mandarin Garden in East Braintree, Massachusetts. Can you help?
Rachel and Irving Rachstein
Hingham, Massachusetts
A. This gem from the sea can now grace your own setting.
     
24 April 1981, Florida Today (Cocoa, FL), “Hoo Nan unveils Easter changes” by Carolyn Short, pg. 1B, col. 1:
(Hoo Nan Chinese Restaurant, 666 U.S. 1.—ed.)
... green jade chicken, green jade scallops, ...
 
29 July 1981, St. Louis (MO) Jewish Light, pg. 15, col. 2 ad:
GREEN JADE SCALLOPS
Fresh scallops sauteed with black mushrooms, broccoli and red pepper in house special sauce.
(Chef Hsu’s Hunan Garden, 11532 Page Service Road.—ed.)
   
18 September 1981, The Evening Press (Binghamton, NY), “Spicy cuisine missing at Szechuan” by Dave Mack, pg. 1C, cols. 3-4:
(Szechuan Cuisine, 970 Conklin Road, Town of Conklin.—ed.)
Green jade scallops, at $9.50, were a delicious combination of scallops with black mushrooms, broccoli and red pepper in a white sauce.
 
15 October 1981, Boston (MA) Globe, “Let’s Eat Out” by Anthony Spinazzola, Calendar sec., pg. 2, col. 4:
(Mandarin Garden, 211 Quincy Avenue, East Braintree.—ed.)
Green jade scallops, on the other hand, offers sea scallops cut in half crosswise, broccoli flowerets, straw mushrooms, baby corn, sweet pepper and scallions in a light tan sauce. The sauce is thickish but not oily, not hot and spicy, but rich and comple with the faintly nutty aftertaste of sesame oil—a dish from the Mandarin school ($7.25).
   
Google Books
18 February 1985, New York magazine, “North by Northwest: Eating Well on the Upper West Side” by Seymour Britchky, pg. 57, col. 1:
(Hunan Balcony, 2596 Broadway at 98th Street.—ed.)
You seek safety in the middle of the menu, and find it in the green jade scallops, the plump white morsels mingled with mushrooms, florets of fresh, deep-green broccoli, and slices of bright red pepper, the whole dish moist with good hot oil.
       
New York Public Library—menus
(The undated menu reprints a New York Post review from April 30, 1981. The NYPL lists this menu as from 1987.—ed.)
Hunan Park, 235 Columbus Avenue (between 70th and 71st Streets), New York, NY
GREEN JADE SCALLOPS 7.95
Fresh scallops sauteed with black mushrooms, broccoli and red pepper in house special sauce.
   
Google Books
Beyond Toasted Ravioli:
A Tour of St. Louis Restaurants
By Joe Pollack and Ann Lemons Pollack
St. Louis, MO: Virginia Publishing Corporation
1999
Pg. 111:
Shanghai-style ribs, with a superior taste from ginger and garlic, are delicious, as are green jade scallops, with snow peas, green peppers and water chestnuts.
 
24 September 2001, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), ‘Superb food distinguishes China House” by Chris Martell, pg. D1, col. 1:
(China House, 1256 South Park Street.—ed.)
Less flavorful, but still good, were the green jade scallops, $9.25. The scallops were sweet, fragrant and tender, and there were plenty of them. They were sauteed with black mushrooms and broccoli in a house white sauce made of egg whites. The bland taste of the sauce was improved by a dash of soy sauce.
 
The Tribune (Greeley, CO)
Hunan Chinese Restaurant
December 28, 2016
(...)
Green Jade Scallops: Fresh scallops sautéed with snow peas, mushrooms and broccoli florets in a delicate white sauce.