Sesame-Crusted Scallops with Veggie Noodle Stir-Fry

This morning/early afternoon, Jeremy and I went to the gym and did some quick grocery shopping. We wanted to get some seafood (of some type) for dinner. When we looked at what BJ's had (because we didn't want to make multiple stops), the scallops looked the best. So we brought a little under a pound home. :)

As I contemplated how I was going to cook them, I kept thinking about a meal I had at the Ginger Man Restaurant - sesame crusted divers scallops with vegetable nori rolls. I had those the first time we went there (for our anniversary a few years ago) and they're still on my mind now. Delicious. I decided to try to recreate them here. These were also great.

This was a very quick recipe. It took me less than a half an hour total (and it didn't take long for the food to disappear either!). We have a serving of stir-fry leftover but all the scallops are gone (which is good since they wouldn't reheat well anyway). It had a great salty flavor and the scallops were still sweet and tender.

Be careful when you cook the scallops so you don't overcook them. They can get tough and rubbery if overcooked. You want a nice sear on both sides and close to raw in the middle. This is accomplished by having a super-hot pan that cooks them very quickly on each side. When you're preparing the scallops, remember to remove the adductor muscles. Sometimes they have already been removed when they were taken out of the shell... but if not it has to be removed because it's tough. The adductor muscle looks like a strip of scallop that sticks off of the rest of it - it will look out of place on the otherwise nice circle/oval. Just rip them off and throw them away. I usually don't even need to use a knife to remove them.

The stir fry was nice and simple. You could substitute any veggies you had on hand. Tamari is an aged soy sauce. If you don't have that you can certainly substitute soy sauce. And if you don't want it spicy, eliminate or reduce the amount of sriracha or crushed red pepper flake. This wasn't overly spicy but since I eat a lot of spicy food my tastebuds probably don't notice or mind spicy foods as much as others. I made the stir-fry completely before I even started the scallops since they cook so quickly.

Overall this was a great success - Jeremy just wishes there were more scallops in the kitchen. Even though scallops are more expensive than most things I make, just think what it would have cost if Jeremy and I had gone out to a restaurant for this meal! Definitely worth it to make this at home and enjoy some tasty scallops while watching football. :)

Recipe:
Scallops:
~ 1 lb. sea scallops, adductor muscles removed (if they aren't already) (I had 12 scallops)
3 tbs. toasted sesame seeds
1 tbs. vegetable oil
1 tbs. margarine
1 tbs. reduced sodium tamari
1 tbs. rice wine vinegar

Stir Fry:
1/4 of a head of cauliflower (about 2 cups), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small onion, diced small
1/2 carrot, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 c. frozen shelled edamame
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flake
1 tbs. reduced sodium tamari
1 tsp. sriracha sauce
1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tbs. vegetable oil

1. Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook according to package directions. 3-4 minutes before the spaghetti is done, add the cauliflower and cook until slightly tender. Drain.
2. When the cauliflower is added, heat a wok over high heat. Add 1 tbs. vegetable oil. Add crushed red pepper flake and garlic and swirl to combine the flavors. When the garlic is fragrant, add the onion and cook 1-2 minutes until it starts to get tender. Add carrots and edamame and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the spaghetti and cauliflower and mix to combine. Add the tamari, sriracha, and sesame oil and mix to combine. Turn off heat and cover.
3. Spread sesame seeds in a shallow casserole dish. Place the scallops on a paper towel and pat dry on both sides. Press into the sesame seeds, coating one flat side of each scallop.
4. Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add 1 tbs. vegetable oil and 1 tbs. margarine. When the pan is hot and the margarine is melted, add the scallops, sesame seed side down. Cook for 2 minutes, turn the scallops over and cook for 1-2 more minutes until nicely seared on the second side.
5. While the scallops are cooking, plate the stir fry. When the scallops are done, place on top of the stir fry.
6. Turn the heat on the scallop pan down to low. Add the tamari and rice wine vinegar to deglaze the pan. Stir to pick up any browned bits. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the scallops and stir fry. Enjoy!