Asian Scallops with Green Sauce →

Anywhere fresh herbs are grown you will find some version of Green Sauce. The list includes Italian and Spanish salsa verde, Chimichurri from Argentina, Moroccan Charmoula, and minty green sauce from Great Britain just to name a few. This Asian-inspired dish uses large sea scallops (or any flaky white fish) marinated in sesame oil, fish sauce, and honey; pan-seared or grilled, finished with a slightly sweet, tart, spicy green sauce made with rice vinegar, honey, red chile, garlic, and cilantro (fresh coriander). You’ll be amazed at how fast you can have this easy, elegant dish on your dinner table. The scallops double as a delicious starter, or a light main course served with rice and veggies. Once you try it with scallops, I strongly urge you to use this sauce on your favorite white fish. You won’t be disappointed! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 for a light meal: 4-5 scallops per person (or 1 ½ -2 pounds of flaky white fish)

For the marinade:

• 4 teaspoons sesame oil

• 4 teaspoons fish sauce

• 1 teaspoon honey

For the Green Sauce:

• 8 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon honey

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 4 cloves of garlic grated or finely minced

• 1 ½ -2 teaspoons fresh red chile pepper finely minced

• 6 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped

PREPARATION

1. Prepare the marinade and reserve half of it to put into the green sauce. Pour the remaining half of the marinade over the scallops and refrigerate. While the scallops marinate prepare the green sauce.

2. Add the vinegar, honey, salt, and garlic to a small saucepan over medium-high heat and boil for 3-4 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chile and coriander. For a smoother sauce, buzz the mixture in a small food processor. Add the reserved marinade to the mixture.

4. On your grill or stovetop, preheat a cast iron skillet (or another heavy bottom skillet) until very hot.

5. Add a tablespoon of canola oil to coat the skillet and add the scallops without crowding. A cast iron skillet can accommodate about 6-8 large scallops at a time. Sear the scallops for 2 minutes and flip them for another 2 minutes. This should produce a nice brown crust on the scallops. Keep them warm while cooking the remaining scallops.

6. Serve the scallops with the green sauce spooned over.

This dish pairs nicely with white or brown rice and sauteed vegetables of your choice.

Wine pairing: white wines work well with this dish. Consider a Viognier, Dry Riesling, Albariño, Vermentino, Vernaccia, or White Bordeaux.

Marinated Sweet and Spicy Shrimp →

Here’s a great shrimp recipe to serve as a delicious appetizer/hors d'oeuvres, or as a main dish with rice like Chinese Fried Rice. Quick and easy to make, the marinade sauce caramelizes in the skillet as you cook the shrimp coating each piece with a rich savory sweet and spicy sauce sure to please your family and guests! Serve the reserved sauce for dipping or drizzling over rice. Truly tasty!

Marinated Sweet and Spicy Shrimp
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 16 large shrimp (21-25 count), peeled and deveined

• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced or grated

• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced or grated

• 4 tablespoons honey

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• ½ teaspoon chili-sesame oil (Note: if you don’t have chili-sesame oil, use ½ teaspoon of sesame oil and ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.)

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preparation:

1. Mix the ingredients and marinate the shrimp in half of the sauce for about 30-40 minutes, reserving the other half to drizzle over the cooked shrimp or rice.

2. Remove the shrimp from the marinade and discard the marinade.

3. Add 1-2 teaspoons of canola or other neutral oil to a hot cast-iron skillet. Working in two batches, add half the shrimp to the hot skillet and sear for 1 minute on each side. The marinade on the shrimp will caramelize. For added flavor, rub the shrimp in the caramelized sauce as you remove them from the skillet.

Note: substitute 3-4 large sea scallops per person and sear for 2 minutes per side after marinating as above. If possible use U-20 dry fresh or air-chilled frozen scallops rather than chemically treated scallops. Allow frozen scallops to thaw in the fridge before using.

Wine pairing: a crisp Chablis, Albariño, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdicchio, Verdejo, or Rosé would complement this dish.

Grilled Shrimp →

This savory, flavorful grilled shrimp recipe is adapted from the baked Spicy Cajun Shrimp recipe on this site. Serve the grilled shrimp with refreshing Water Melon Salsa and marinated grilled veggies. Summertime and the grillin’ is easy!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 tablespoon Cajun or Creole seasoning (this yields a mildly spicy marinade)

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro)

• 1 teaspoon minced serrano or jalapeño chile

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, shelled, deveined

• lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation:

1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a baking dish. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. While the shrimp are marinating, soak some bamboo skewers (figure about 4-5 shrimp per skewer)

3. Preheat your grill while you thread the shrimp on the skewers by piercing through the head end and through the tail end.

4. Oil the grill grates and grill the shrimp 2 minutes per side.

Adapted from: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spicy-baked-shrimp