Living on the coast in New England, I find tons of inspiration for amazingly unique seafood dishes. Our favorite restaurants are always coming up with innovative and delicious ways to prepare fresh seafood…dishes I could certainly never come up with myself! This was the case with an amazing scallop dish I ordered recently. The dish consisted of fresh braised sea scallops on a bed of sweet/creamy rice with a delightful peanut glaze sauce. It was simply euphoric. I knew I had to try to recreate it at home. I experimented with a bunch of different ingredients and combinations, and I finally hit on something amazing! Here’s the my take on the dish, Braised Sea Scallops with Peanut Glaze & Coconut Milk Rice…
Braised Sea Scallops with Peanut Glaze & Coconut Milk Rice {recipe}
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS (scallops)
8 large fresh sea scallops
2 tbsp. olive oil
garlic powder
salt & pepper
INGREDIENTS (rice)
one cup uncooked Jasmin rice
one cup coconut milk
one cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
INGREDIENTS (peanut glaze)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. corn starch (to thicken if needed)
METHOD:
Coconut Milk Rice: In a medium sauce pan, bring to boil coconut milk, chicken broth, and garlic. Add Jasmin rice, cover and reduce heat to simmer.
Peanut Glaze: While the rice is cooking, you can begin the peanut glaze. In a medium saucepan, bring all ingredients (except corn starch) to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Sauce should simmer for approx. 10 minutes, the consistancy should be a pourable glaze. Add corn starch if needed to thicken at the end (a bit of water can be added if too thick).
Braised Sea Scallops: While your peanut glaze is simmering, you can start on the the sea scallops. Add olive oil to a large skillet and bring to a high heat. Quickly drop the scallops onto the skillet, dust the tops of the scallops with a bit of garlic powder, salt & pepper. Cook the scallops on one side for approx. 2 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown, then flip the scallops and cook for another 2 minutes on the other side, dust with a bit more garlic powder, salt & pepper. Once golden brown on both sides, remove the scallops from the pan.
Both the rice and peanut glaze should now be complete. Prepare a dish with a rounded scoop of rice in the center. Place four sea scallops on the plate and drizzle the peanut glaze all around the dish. You can garnish the dish with a few peanuts as well.
Bon appetit!