This is the
perfect meal to make on days where your evenings are going to be hectic! The noodles can be made ahead of time and set
in the refrigerator until it’s time to serve and the scallops cook up in just a
few minutes.
Before I get
into the recipe, I wanted to talk about the scallops for a moment. The only experience I’d had with scallops
before last night was watching Hell’s Kitchen where Ramsey screams that they
are burnt/rubbery/still finding Nemo. If
a professional chef can mess up scallops so often, what hope did I have?
I knew from
being a food-info reading junkie that there are three sizes and two types of
scallops….sea, bay, and calico and dry or wet. Sea scallops are 2 inches in
diameter or bigger while the bay scallops are much smaller. Calico scallops are similar to the bay
scallop in size and color but they are less sweet. Dry refers to a natural
scallop, while wet refers to a scallop that has been injected with solution of
sodium tripolyphosphate or STP. STP is a
preservative that causes the scallop to soak up excess water. Why is this important?
Besides the
whole “eating chemical solutions” agreement, dry scallops weight less so when
you are buying them you will be paying for just the seafood instead of the
water weight inside of them. A dry
scallop also browns better then a wet scallop since it does not have excess
water that will be released during the cooking process. Oh and let’s not forget that wet scallops
shrink…we’re talking almost 40% smaller once they are cooked!!
When you are
purchasing your scallops and want dry, look for ivory to beige coloring. Scallops treated with STP will be bright
white and are very wet to the touch.
Now if you decide to purchase frozen scallops, look at the list of ingredients. Any scallop that has been injected will have
it listed. Also if you are buying fresh,
make sure to smell the scallops if at all possible! They should smell clean and sweet! If it has an overly-fishy smell, don’t buy
them.
Now, if you
are like me and live in a land-locked area with a very limited or non-existent
access to fresh seafood, your only option is to cook with frozen wet scallops. To combat the STP, I thaw the scallops in
cool running water. Once they are thawed
and drained, I lay them out on paper towels to absorb as much of the water as possible
(you may have to change out the paper towels if they get too soaked) before I
cook them.
*Lecture is
over*
OK, now to
the good stuff!
Pan-Seared
Scallops with Thai Spicy Noodles
Serves 8
Ingredients
1 (1 lb) box linguine fini, cooked and drained
1 tbsp crushed red
pepper
3/4 c sesame oil
6 tbsp honey
6 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 c chopped green
onions
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 c chopped cilantro
3/4 c honey roasted
peanuts, chopped
24 sea scallops, if
frozen – thawed
Salt and pepper (optional)
1/2 c olive
oil – for cooking
Directions:
Turn oven to
250° and place oven-safe plate inside.
Sprinkle
scallops with salt and pepper (optional)
Combined the crushed
red pepper and the sesame oil in a sauce pan over med heat; strain the oil (discard
the crushed rep pepper).
Combined the
red pepper-sesame oil with the honey and soy sauce, whisking until blended.
Pour the oil
mixture over the cooked pasta, tossing for even coating, and store in fridge
until chilled. *If you prefer the noodles hot you can skip the chilling part,
but the flavors will not be as pronounced*
While the
noodles chill, heat the olive oil in a medium to large skillet *I prefer to use
cast iron* on med-high heat. When the
oil starts to shimmer, lower the heat to med-low and sear scallops in batches.
*Depending on the size of the skillet, doing more then 4-5 scallops at a time
will cause them to steam rather than caramelize*
Once the
scallops are in the pan, let them cook for 2-3 minutes without interruption
before turning them over. This will
create the caramelized yumminess you’re looking for! Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
When the
first batch is done, remove them from the pan and place on the plate inside the
oven. Repeat with the remaining scallops *I place a paper towel on the plate to soak
up any remaining liquid, but be careful doing so since it is paper in a hot
oven*
To serve 8:
1 cup of the noodles
3 scallops
2 tbsp grated carrot
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 ½ tbsp chopped peanuts
For my family, since
there are only 3 of us, I only cook 9 scallops at meal time. The remaining noodles, veggies, and nuts get
tossed together and placed in the fridge for lunch over the next few days.
This is one of my
favorite “easy” meals! I hope that you and your family enjoy it as much as mine
does!!
