History: Found this recipe here. I really like scallops, but more importantly, the day I found this recipe, I had some extra lemon grass lying around that I didn't want to waste.
Difficulty: Easy (but scallops aren't cheap)
Time: 30 min tops including all prep
Family Rating: Our kids aren't big fans of spicy or scallops, so this is a dish just for husband and me.
Key Tools: If you have a nice hand chopper from Pampered Chef, it's handy for this.
Ingredients:
1 shallot sliced (they look like a cross between an onion and garlic)
1 tsp olive oil
salt
1/4 cup finely chopped pineapple (I bought the tub of rings in the fresh fruit section and used a ring for presentation)
1 T finely grated ginger (if you don't want to keep the root around, buy the tubes of grated in the fresh fruit section. They keep well. Else, grate the ginger after peeling off the outter layer.
1 T lemon grass finely chopped (you can find this in a little bitty package where they sell other fresh spices in the fresh fruit section)
1 t cilantro (plan to make another dish during the week with cilantro as you can only buy it by the bunch else grow it yourself.)
1 t honey
1 t apple cider vinegar
1/2 t sesame seeds (find these in the Asian Food aisle)
1/8 t red pepper flakes (I use more, but I like spicy!)
4 t olive oil (yep, it's on the list twice)
Veg oil
Green beans or sugar snap peas
4 large sea scallops, 8 medium (Plan to buy these and eat them the same day. They do NOT keep well in the fridge if they're already thawed in the store.)
Process:
1) Rinse and pat dry your scallops. Rinsing is really important. You can soak your scallops in salt water for a bit or just rinse turning them all different directions. If you don't rinse really well, you'll often have some grit in your scallops.
2) Prepare all of the "chopped" ingredients. You can put them in small dishes so they're ready to go. Get your other ingredients out so they're handy along with your measuring spoons. This dish comes together very quickly once you turn on the heat. (Add water to a medium saucepan and start the heat to bring it to a boil for the green beans.)
3) In a medium/small skillet, bring to medium heat and add 1 t or so of olive oil. (I don't measure, I just pour in some olive oil.)
4) Add the sliced scallop, a pinch of salt and cook/stir until the shallot has softened. About 5 min.
5) When shallot is done, pour into a small mixing bowl and add the the pineapple, ginger, lemon grass, cilantro, honey, vinegar, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, 4 t olive oil and salt to taste. Mix and set aside.
6) Once the water is boiling in your sauce pan, throw in the green beans. You only need them in there for about 3-4 minutes or until they're tender. Strain and throw them in a bowl of cold water with ice and set aside.
7) In the same skillet you used for the shallots, pour in a few tablespoons of veg oil and rotate your pan so it's coated. Heat over med high heat. Once you see wisps of smoke rising, it's hot enough. Place each scallop into the skillet. Brown for about 1 min. (don't move them around til it's time to flip) Gently loosen them from the skillet with a pancake type spatula and flip. Cook for about another 90 seconds. Scallops are cooked like steak--rare, med, well, etc. They are best in my humble opinion when they're about medium. Too done and they're very rubbery. When they're done to your liking, turn off the heat, remove scallops.
8) Throw the green beans into the warm skillet to warm them up.
9) Place green beans on each plate to form a bed. If you've gotten the rings of pineapple, place a ring on as well.
10) Then place the scallops on top, drizzle with the pineapple salsa and serve!
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