What's on the Menu? Pan-Seared Sea Scallops over Spicy Thai Noodles

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!!

<3 - Cat