Hotatagei

Scallops...
Barely cooked... Sashimi... In the shell.. So many options..

We all love Scallops, I have been playing with Japanese flavours recently.. and over the next few weeks will be posting some simple yet uncompromising asian influenced dishes

Here simply flash fried fresh hand picked divers, start in a smoking pan of rapeseed oil, crisping nicely on the exposed flesh and the a knob of butter before turning.

These are set aside and the pan is then finished with a touch of garlic, ginger, a dash of yuzu juice, hontsuyu (Hon Tsuyu is basically extracted bonito and japanese niboshi sardine oil mixed with soy sauce. It's used as a soup base for noodles such as Udon) and fresh chilli. I love adding a touch of hontsuyu to the scallops as they start to caramelize it just helps the process along and adds a depth and intensity of flavour with umami found in the garum of sardines. Garum was a fish sauce similar to the fish sauces used in Asian cuisines, which are equally ancient (if the Roman Empire had not toppled, we’d most likely be using garum in Western cuisine today). 

Garnish..

I have a lot to post about garnish, in plating Japanese food, simple yet beautifully aesthetic garnish which eats with the dish is a key to achieving perfect balance and flavour...

Benriner Mandolin - Fresh seasonal beetroot, the earthy sweet flavor is a perfect marriage for scallops...

The dish here has alternating beds of beetroot and mooli for each plump scallop to sit on and that little touch of nigella shoots and daikon cress livens the mouth with each fresh bite