This week I got back to my asian-fusion roots and made a kick-*ss Chinese-style seared scallop and broccoli dish with a side of fried rice. The scallops were simple, rinse, pat dry. Heat a little olive oil in a nonstick pan until just smoking, add the scallops and let them get some color, 2 minutes perhaps, depending on size. Flip and cook until just barely cooked through another minute or 2. Glaze with some garlic black bean sauce (Sauce made from fermented black beans, very salty, so you won’t need to salt the scallops. You can buy this in a jar from most grocery stores nowadays. I actually have a bag of fermented black beans, which I use to make homemade black bean garlic sauce, but that’s another post).
Broccoli: cut into flowerets, toss with a tiny bit of oil, spread on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven at 450 for 15 minutes or so. They will get a little charred on the edges, which is delish, and will still be crunchy. I did this step in advance, then re-warmed it in the same sauté pan as the scallops with some of the black bean garlic sauce. Top the broccoli with the scallops.
As for the fried rice, I think the more ingredients, the better, but that’s just me. I used Chinese sausage as the salty-meaty component. I like to slice it thin and get it very crispy (like sweet bacon!) in the pan first. I let them drain on paper towels and wiped most of the oil out of the sauté pan (no, I don’t have a wok, no room in the cupboards). I then added a few tablespoons of fresh grated ginger and a few cloves of minced garlic and sautéed briefly. Then I added the day-old rice (5 cups or so), some oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sliced green onions, sliced fish cake, and stir to coat the rice. I like to let the rice get a little crispy, so I leave it on high without stirring to let some of the grains start to really cook. I added some frozen peas near the end (somehow I have the idea that fried rice must have peas in it…weird) and put the sausage back in. I realized afterwards that I had meant to add some diced shitakes, but it was good all the same. You’ll never order take-out again! (well, ok, maybe you will, but you’ll wish that you had made this instead :).
Butter Mochi 