How to Cook Vietnamese Style Scallops

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients needed to make Vietnamese Style Scallops:

For the scallops:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 12 scallops, cleaned

For the papaya salad:

• 4 oz green papaya, peeled, seeded and julienned
• 2 pomelos, peeled, quartered and coarsely chopped
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and julienned
• 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh mint leaves, shredded

For the dressing:

• 1 red chili, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, finely grated
• ½ garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce or nuoc nam
• Juice of ½ a lime
• 1 tbsp palm sugar

For serving:

1 tbsp uncooked long-grain rice, toasted in dry skillet until light golden brown, pounded

Cooking instructions for Vietnamese Style Scallops:

• To make the salad, toss the papaya, pomelo, onion, basil, mint and cilantro together in a medium bowl until they are distributed evenly throughout the mixture.
• To make the dressing, pound the palm sugar, ginger and garlic together in a mortar and pestle, along with a splash of lime juice, until they form a smooth puree.
• Add the red chili and stir them all together along with the fish sauce until well combined.
• For the scallops, drizzle vegetable oil over the scallops and toss well to coat evenly.
• Heat a skillet over high flame until it smokes and throw in the oiled scallops.
• Cook them for half a minute, without agitating them even once, until each scallop base turns opaque.
• Flip them over, one by one, and cook the other side in a similar fashion; avoid overcooking to avoid the scallops from becoming chewy.
• Turn off the heat and set aside.
• Sprinkle the crushed rice on top of the tossed salad and smother it with half of the prepared dressing.
• Toss further until they mix thoroughly and pile them up in three plates.
• Top each serving with four scallops and drizzle rest of the dressing over them.
• Serve right away.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Last Updated on February 12, 2013 by