Pan-Fried King Scallops with Chinese Brown Sauce, a quick and easy appetizer that is posh enough to be served on special occasions. The scallops are cooked to perfection, then dipped into a delicious sauce to create a fantastic dish every single time.
Seafood might not be the cheapest choice when it comes to a quick meal, but it surely is delicious. One bite of these amazing scallops, and you know you've spoiled your taste buds big time. And you don't even need to slave away for hours in the kitchen to cook them, they are ready in about 5-6 minutes. If you have them ready cleaned that is.
If you get some amazing freshly-caught scallops delivered straight to your door, that's when the fun begins. It took me more than an hour to remove the scallops from the shells, simply because I was clueless at first what l had to do, and opening the shells proved to be one tough job. But I did it! Phew!
Although I think next time I'll just go for the ready-packed ones, I can't possibly deal with any more shells. But it was indeed an experience! And it felt like such a treat when I did get to enjoy the scallops. The fresh ones are amazing, especially served with a nice Chinese sauce to balance their natural sweetness.
Scallops have a buttery and sweet taste, and a firm texture. They aren't "fishy" at all, that's why I think a Chinese-style sauce works perfectly well here, but you can serve them with lemon too for a nice kick.
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How to sear scallops
For my recipe I didn't use the roe (the orange bits), although I hear they are very nutritious and as delicious. I guess the white part looks nicer, so it makes sense for it to be featured in most recipes. Pan-searing scallops is the easiest thing to do:
- add the olive oil and butter to a pan and allow the butter to melt
- pat-dry the scallops, and arrange them on the pan, cooking them in batches if necessary
- leave to fry on each side for about 2-3 minutes until golden brown
- serve warm with the Chinese-style sauce
How to make the sauce
For the sauce, nothing simpler, just mix all the ingredients together, and you are good to go. Or demolish the scallops!
What to serve with scallops
My Creamy Garlic Scallops with Pasta is one delicious meal with everything you can ask for. And it's a nice main course that can be served to those posh guests too (well, whenever social life resumes I suppose).
But with these pan-fried scallops, things are even better, because we can either have them as a delicious starter with the sauce only, or make it a main meal and serve it with a nice side dish.
Here the choices are endless: a nice salad like: waldorf salad, cucumber tomato avocado feta salad or a nice chickpea tabbouleh salad. Other nice sides are: creamy scalloped potatoes, parmesan-crusted potatoes or some nice sauteed green beans.Do give them a go, there are so delicious!
If you’ve liked my PAN-FRIED SCALLOPS WITH CHINESE BROWN SAUCE or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Pan-Fried King Scallops with Chinese Brown Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ lb raw king scallops
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
For the sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Use a kitchen paper to pat dry the scallops.
- Heat up the oil, add the butter, and allow it to melt.
- Arrange the scallops on the pan, and leave to cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
- Cook in 2 batches if necessary, do not overcrowd the pan.
- To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients together.
- Serve the scallops immediately with the sauce.
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