(Most of my blog entries will be tech related. But some will be about other things. This one is about cooking scallops)
Scallops can provide an amazing seafood experience without being difficult to prepare. This dish is all about delicate textures and delicate tastes.
When buying scallops you’ll see them under several names including “bay” scallops, “sea” scallops, “diver” scallops, “calico” scallops, “ocean” scallops, etc. Some of those are meant to indicate where the scallops are from, some are about how they were harvested, some are just confusing. For my money, and for this dish, sea scallops of a fairly large size, maybe 15 or so to the pound, are the choice.
Rinse your scallops and pat them dry with paper towels then season them with just a little bit of salt. Make a ponzu sauce by adding a little orange juice to some soy, or just buy a ready-made ponzu. Get about a ½ cup into a bowl, ready to dip the scallops after sauté.
Prepare a sauté pan with a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil and get it good and hot. Cook large scallops 6-8 at a time (fit the pan, but don’t crowd them), for about 3 minutes on a side. I believe that the single most important thing about cooking seafood is to avoid overcooking. As with fish, overcooking scallops or shrimp will ruin the flavor and texture.
Remove them from the pan, dip them in the ponzu, and then sprinkle sparingly with sesame seeds. Stack them high on the serving plate and sprinkle each new batch with sesame as you add them to the serving plate. My advice is to make a lot! These will be popular.
I serve scallops either over white rice seasoned lightly with lemon pepper or with couscous, and with either a tossed salad or a cooked leafy green vegetable on the side. Have a salt and pepper grinder on the table. Serve with your favorite wine. Though I drink red wine with almost any meal, white seems appropriate for scallops.
If you make this dish, please let me know how it turned out and how your guests liked it! This one is always a winner at my house.
I’ll probably return to tech posts early next week. Here are some possible topics. Leave a comment or drop me a direct mail/message if you like one of these or want to point me to some of your favorite articles on those subjects.
• A year with the location service "Foursquare"
• Wearable technology
• Thoughts on customized search results
Please leave a comment on the recipe, on what I should write about next, or on what you think I should read.
Can't wait to try the Scallops dish...
ReplyDeleteI would like to hear more about Fourspot.