Scallops with Oriental Salad and Sweet Chilli Dressing

Here the unbeatable quality of Scottish seafood is allied to oriental flavours - modern Scottish cooking at its best. The vegetables for the salad are made crisp by thinly slicing them and soaking in iced water. They are then combined with the sweetness of the mango and the crunch of the nuts, with the whole thing brought together by the hot, sweet-and-sour chilli dressing. I use only hand-dived Scottish scallops, as the dredged variety are often damaged by the dredging process, which can also suffocate them with sand. Certainly never buy scallop meat which has been soaked in water, as this balloons it up, ruining the flavour and texture, and you have to pay for the extra water.

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

12 fresh large scallops, cleaned
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
Freshly ground sea salt
1 tablespoon furikake (Japanese seasoning), optional

For the salad

1 small carrot
4 spring onions
1 small ripe mango
50g (2 oz) mangetout, shredded
50g (2 oz) fresh beansprouts
A handful of fresh coriander leaves (use these like salad leaves), washed
20Og (8 oz) mixed small salad leaves such as mizuna, watercress or lamb's lettuce, washed
50g (2 oz) cashew nuts, crushed
1 red chilli, halved, seeded and finely shredded

For the Sweet Chilli Dressing

3 tablespoons sunflower oil
4 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon light sesame oil

First make the salad. Fill a bowl with iced water or water with ice cubes in it. Shave long thin strips off the carrot with a potato peeler and put into the water. Cut the spring onions into long shreds and add them to the water too. Leave to firm up and curl in the fridge for 20 minutes, then drain well and pat dry.

Halve the mango past each side of the stone and peel with a potato peeler. Slice each half into long thin slices. Put the drained vegetables into a bowl with the mango. Add the mangetout, beansprouts, coriander, salad leaves, cashew nuts and chilli and lightly toss together with your hands. Cover and keep in the fridge.

Mix the dressing ingredients and set aside.

Pat the scallops dry with some kitchen paper. Detach the corals and save them for another dish (personally, I don't like them). Heat a ridged griddle until smoking hot. Lightly brush the scallops with the oil. Quickly lay them in the pan and sear for 30 seconds - do not move them. Quickly turn them around on the same side, so that you will brand them with a criss-cross pattern. Cook for 30 seconds. Flip them over and cook for another 30 seconds. They will now be ready. Season with a little freshly ground sea salt.

Arrange the scallops on warm plates. Toss the salad with 2 tablespoons of dressing and place a mound on each plate. Drizzle round a little more dressing and sprinkle with Japanese seasoning (if using).

© Nick Nairn

« Go Back To Recipes