Light and lean and packed with flavor! These scallops are amazing on their own, but paired with noodles make quite a treat!
First I started with the sauce, and parked it on the side until I need it later.
This sauce is so good, I can't wait to make it again for chicken, fish, pork, or veggies. You could put it on a piece of tree bark, and you'd love it. Simply add 1/2 cup soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper for heat, and 4 cloves of garlic (OK... full disclosure, I used 5, but I feel like my comfort zone for garlic may scare the average Gremlin, but 5 it was).
Whisk that together and let it sit until you're ready.
For this dish, I used dried shiitake mushrooms (about 1 cup), so they need to sit in water for at least 30 minutes to plump up.
Next I added 12 ounces of potato noodles to boiling water for 5 minutes, until al dente. You could use rice noodles, bean noodles, any kind you like. These noodles completely take on the flavor of the sauce... and tonight, that's what we want.
After the noodles are cooked, give them a good rinse in cold water or they will stick (and you won't have noodles, you'll have one massive blob of noodle... rinse and toss and rinse some more)!
I always like a little "veg" in my noodles, and tonight I thinly sliced one medium zucchini, one onion, the shiitake mushrooms, and spinach (about 2 cups). You could add any veggies you like (carrots, sprouts, jicima, broccoli, cabbage... anything).
In about 1 teaspoon of canola oil, saute the onions and mushrooms. They take longer, so start with them first. After about 5 minutes, add the zucchini and saute another couple of minutes.
Next, add about half of that sauce you made earlier and the spinach until it gets a little wilted. Mix together and add to your noodles. Us a BIG mixing bowl so you can really toss all those veggies with the noodles.
For flavor, I added about 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil to the noodles. I like to finish with sesame oil so you can really taste it... a little goes a long way! Now... you could do all this way ahead, and wait until you're ready to eat for the scallops. In this case, I'M READY!! So, let's sear those beautiful scallops!
This is about 1 pound of fresh sea scallops, and it will serve about 4 normal eaters (or in our case, a couple). I dried these beauties and seasoned with salt and fresh black pepper. Get your pan smokin' hot (medium high heat) and add about a tablespoon of canola oil. You want a hot pan to put a good sear on those scallops!
Lay those scallops in the pan and LEAVE THEM ALONE for 2 minutes per side! If you fiddle with them you aren't letting the pan sear the scallop... let the pan do the work. When they're ready (after a couple of minutes), they will almost "release" themselves from the pan, if they stick, they're not ready. No more than 3 minutes per side, or you'll have rubber scallops.
Now, sear the other side of the scallops and at the last minute add the rest of the sauce! It will get thick and rich right away! Coat the scallops with the sauce and get ready to plate!!
Top your savory noodles with those tender sweet scallops and finish with a little bit of scallion and sesame seeds! Wow!! Absolutely amazing!
First I started with the sauce, and parked it on the side until I need it later.
This sauce is so good, I can't wait to make it again for chicken, fish, pork, or veggies. You could put it on a piece of tree bark, and you'd love it. Simply add 1/2 cup soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper for heat, and 4 cloves of garlic (OK... full disclosure, I used 5, but I feel like my comfort zone for garlic may scare the average Gremlin, but 5 it was).
Whisk that together and let it sit until you're ready.
For this dish, I used dried shiitake mushrooms (about 1 cup), so they need to sit in water for at least 30 minutes to plump up.
Next I added 12 ounces of potato noodles to boiling water for 5 minutes, until al dente. You could use rice noodles, bean noodles, any kind you like. These noodles completely take on the flavor of the sauce... and tonight, that's what we want.
After the noodles are cooked, give them a good rinse in cold water or they will stick (and you won't have noodles, you'll have one massive blob of noodle... rinse and toss and rinse some more)!
I always like a little "veg" in my noodles, and tonight I thinly sliced one medium zucchini, one onion, the shiitake mushrooms, and spinach (about 2 cups). You could add any veggies you like (carrots, sprouts, jicima, broccoli, cabbage... anything).
In about 1 teaspoon of canola oil, saute the onions and mushrooms. They take longer, so start with them first. After about 5 minutes, add the zucchini and saute another couple of minutes.
Next, add about half of that sauce you made earlier and the spinach until it gets a little wilted. Mix together and add to your noodles. Us a BIG mixing bowl so you can really toss all those veggies with the noodles.
For flavor, I added about 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil to the noodles. I like to finish with sesame oil so you can really taste it... a little goes a long way! Now... you could do all this way ahead, and wait until you're ready to eat for the scallops. In this case, I'M READY!! So, let's sear those beautiful scallops!
This is about 1 pound of fresh sea scallops, and it will serve about 4 normal eaters (or in our case, a couple). I dried these beauties and seasoned with salt and fresh black pepper. Get your pan smokin' hot (medium high heat) and add about a tablespoon of canola oil. You want a hot pan to put a good sear on those scallops!
Lay those scallops in the pan and LEAVE THEM ALONE for 2 minutes per side! If you fiddle with them you aren't letting the pan sear the scallop... let the pan do the work. When they're ready (after a couple of minutes), they will almost "release" themselves from the pan, if they stick, they're not ready. No more than 3 minutes per side, or you'll have rubber scallops.
Now, sear the other side of the scallops and at the last minute add the rest of the sauce! It will get thick and rich right away! Coat the scallops with the sauce and get ready to plate!!
Top your savory noodles with those tender sweet scallops and finish with a little bit of scallion and sesame seeds! Wow!! Absolutely amazing!
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