Wednesday, June 13, 2012

I cooked: Pan seared scallops with sauteed mushrooms and truffle oil

Those that know me or have been following my blog will know that one of my favorite food is scallops! I love the jumbo scallops that I usually get at Favola and Prime at Le Meridien KL - big and juicy!

A (plate of) scallop a day keeps Baby Sumo a happy girl..



I have been searching for fresh scallops to buy in supermarkets and also the wet market but to no avail. If anyone knows where I can buy fresh ones, please let me know! So, one day I found these rather large scallops in the supermarket but they were frozen. I was craving for scallops so I thought why not try them out. Do make sure that you defrost them properly and then pat them dry with a kitchen towel before searing them on high heat in the pan. Do not overcook them as they will shrink in size and also become slightly rubbery, the cooking time depends on the size of the scallops. Furthermore scallops are quite delicate and require very little cooking time. (If you visit a French restaurant, you will find that that their scallops are usually barely cooked so 1 minute cooking time each side is sufficient - but this is also highly dependent on personal preference)

I found the frozen scallops to be decent, but of course if you can get your hands on fresh ones, that's the way to go. I love mushrooms, so I paired the scallops with a melange of mushrooms - I used grey oyster, buna-shimeji and button mushrooms. You can use any type of mushrooms that you like including shitake and enoki. A dash of truffle oil completes this dish - perfect as a starter to your meal.


Another way of serving the scallops is to serve them with a summer garden salad.  The recipe for the salad can be found here - all you need to do is top the salad with the pan seared scallops. I do prefer the first way of serving them with mushrooms better.



Pan seared scallops with sauteed mushrooms
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
Serves 4-5

Ingredients
1 pack of scallops, preferably fresh (approx. 20 no)
1 pack of buna-shimeji mushrooms, ends cut off
200g grey oyster mushrooms, sliced thinly
100g button mushrooms, sliced thinly
4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, totaste
Truffle oil
Chives, finely chopped for garnishing

1. Heat 2-3 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Put in all the mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes, until cooked thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.  (You can cook the scallops at the same time)

2. Meanwhile, clean the scallops and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.  Season the scallops on one side with salt and pepper.

2. Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan. Make sure the pan is piping hot before you put the scallops in. You want to have a nice sear on the scallops to seal in the juices.

3. Put the scallops in, seasoned side down in a clockwise direction. This is merely for convenience sake so that you know which scallop went in first for timing purposes. Cook the scallops for about 40- 50seconds on each side, depending on the size of the scallop and the amount of sear you want on the scallop. Be careful not to overcook them as it will become rubbery when overcooked. While cooking the first side, you can season the other side of the scallop with salt and pepper. (You can cook them in 2 separate rounds if you can't manage all in 1 minute)

4. To plate, place the mushrooms on the plate and add a dash of truffle oil.  Top with 5 scallops per plate and then garnish with chives. Serve immediately.


A hit with both kids and adults in our household :)







Colorful!

What's your favourite way of eating scallops? Would love to hear from you. ♥

Full set of photos can be viewed here.

27 comments:

  1. Drooling, cooked to perfection !!!!

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  2. That looks great. Scallops! And mushrooms! All my daughter's favourites...but scallops are expensive here...and imported mushrooms too (and often not fresh, not really in good condition), and those mushrooms are not readily available even. We only have our own abalone mushrooms...or use those canned ones. :(

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    Replies
    1. Scallops are not cheap here either, but cheaper to cook it than eat it in restaurant.

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  3. I actually like the scallops tiga rasa at Ril's steakhouse. =)

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    1. Ah, those are quite nice but would be better if they used bigger scallops :P

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  4. Where can i get scallop here at malaysia? Those food looks yummeh! :)

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    Replies
    1. Usually I use frozen ones, my friend told me they sell fresh ones in Kuala Selangor.

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  5. i must thank my lucky stars that we can get fresh scallops over here at the markets. while everyone says that scallops take a minute on each side, i think its still too raw for me and not long enough to get enough colour or maybe im too impatient and crowd the pan with too many scallops in one go!

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    1. Ah do you put them in when your pan is really hot? I think it hugely depends on the size of the scallops, maybe the ones u get are REALLY BIG!

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  6. I love scallops too!

    I can get fresh ones here but i prefer the frozen ones because it's bigger and better tasting. :)

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    1. Oh that's interesting! I always thought that fresh scallops would automatically taste better. Ah maybe it depends on the country of origin then... where does yours come from?

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  7. Its remind me bout the scallop I ate at bobby chin's

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  8. here's something i'm happily cutting and pasting:
    Scallops contain a variety of nutrients, including Vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium and potassium, that can promote cardiovascular health, plus provide protection against colon cancer and Alzheimer's and age-related cognitive decline. :D

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  9. Nice job! I bet they're were devoured much quicker than it too to make!

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    Replies
    1. Haha you are right, we finished it in less time than it was to make!

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  10. Looks delicious! I wish I could cook like YOU:)

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    1. I'm sure you could cook very well, just didn't show off your talent yet! :)

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  11. haha, I think everyone here know that u love scallops! lol

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  12. Yen, have you tried Japanese supermarket? We can get the Hokkaido scallops here but they are frozen. Somehow, the quality is very, very good & can be eaten raw(which I never tried). It's quite cheap, like 1kg for aud$38 but I haven't bought it for a long time, not sure abt the price now. These Hokkaido scallops , the meat is thick & they only takes seconds to cook! Oh, you know what, let ask my Jap gf who lives in KL, may be she knows. Get back to you later!

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    Replies
    1. I'm back. My gf asks you to try Isetan KLCC. But she didn't say whether the fresh ones are available, hehehe! Hope this will help!

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    2. Jessie, thanks so much for trying to find out for me. I really appreciate it. I will try to hunt down the Hokkaido scallops, usually I see frozen scallops from US but I think more distributors are bringing in the ones from Hokkaido.

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  13. they look awesome...i normally blanched them a while before searing or pan frying them.

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  14. Dear, may i know where you buy the truffle oil?

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