Sea Scallops with Sesame and Wakame
A lot of recipes that incorporate Sea Scallops tend to drown them in rich sauces. I think that this is a bit of a shame as rich sauces are best reserved for flavourless and texture lacking seafood’s, something that a nice fresh scallop is definitely not.This recipe is very simple to prepare and although it incorporates some strong flavours it still leaves the Scallop as the star of the show. I tend to use the Queensland variety, as I find them to be the perfect size and have beautiful ocean sweetness. Obviously if you’re not in Australia it will be a bit difficult to find this variety, but find a fish monger you can trust and ask him or her what they recommend.
Sea Scallops with Sesame and Wakame
Ingredients
- 1 dozen Queensland Scallops on the half shell or comparable variety such as Japanese or Canadian
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- Mirin
- vegetable oil
- sea salt flakes
- black pepper freshly ground
- Japanes pickled ginger
- 50 grams wakame seaweed shreds dried, can also use prepared from a sushi shop
Instructions
- Place the Wakame seaweed into a small mixing bowl and cover with boiling water and a splash of mirin, allow to sit for about 5-10 minutes and strain.
- Toast the sesame seeds over a med flame in a dry pan, continue to keep the pan moving until seeds are golden and nutty and remove from pan immediately.
- Gently slide a paring knife under each scallop and remove them from their shells and set aside.
- Wash and rinse any residue or growths off each scallop shell, rinse well and set aside.
- Season both sides of the scallops lightly with the salt and pepper.
- Heat a pan over med to high heat with 1-2 tbsps vegetable oil and sear scallops for about 30-50 seconds per side (depending on size of scallops and personal preference. Note that a slightly under cooked scallop is fine to eat and will remain more tender than a fully cooked one.)
- Remove the scallops and return them to their shells.
- Place a small pinch of the seaweed on each scallop and then place a pinch of the pickled ginger on the seaweed.
- Gently drizzle a very small amount of sesame oil over each garnished scallop, and finish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
- Grab one of your more casual friends to carry the tray of scallops around to your less casual friends so you can finish the Sake you started earlier.