After cooking Seared Scallops & Prawns in Garlic Butter the other day, I still had half the scallops left which I didn't want to keep for too long so as to ensure it's eaten at its optimum freshness. Though these were frozen scallops, they tasted decently fresh with no fishy smell whatsoever.
So, I thought I'd make Seared Scallops & Sugar Snap Peas in Salted Egg Yolk Sauce. Initially, I wanted to pair it with grilled asparagus as we all know that scallops and asparagus is a classic combo but when I saw how costly one packet of thick asparagus (about 10 stalks) was (they were RM23!) and pencil thin ones just won't do, I decided to look for an alternative.
The dish was inspired by what I had at WhupWhup (that cost RM35 a year ago) which I remembered enjoying very much. I googled for recipes on how to make the salted egg yolk sauce and realised it was actually quite simple...you just need salted egg yolks, cream or milk and sugar.
Ingredients:
10 scallops2 salted egg yolks1 packet sugar snap peas (about 20)
2 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp water
A little flour (for dredging)
Salt & freshly cracked black pepper
A pinch of sugar
Olive oil (for frying)
Preparation:
Wash the scallops and pat them really dry (don't bother with removing the adductor muscles). Place them on a paper towel and keep them refrigerated until you're ready to cook.
Prep the sugar snap peas as you would french beans by discarding the stem end and removing the string from each sugar snap pea.
Crack the salted eggs and make sure you discard all the whites. The whites will be sticky, so your hands will be the best tool to pull them away from the yolks.
Method:
Cook the salted egg yolks by steaming them for about 10 minutes.
Mash them up as finely as you can with a fork. The end result will be a sauce that's more coarse. If you want a smoother sauce (like a puree), you can blitz it up in a blender (you might want to do that if you're serving it to guests).
Blanch the sugar snap peas in salted boiling water for no more than a minute. This will ensure it stays crunchy to the bite. Fish them out and sprinkle some salt and black pepper over them.
Season the scallops with salt and freshly cracked black pepper (at the very last second) just before they go into the pan. Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat to sear the scallops. This time, I decided to dredge the top and bottom of each scallop with a light dusting of flour. Don't crowd the scallops in the pan otherwise they'll end up steaming instead of searing. Fry them in batches if you have to if you're using a small pan (like I did). Flip them over once you see a nice golden crust developing. It should take about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on each side. It's better to under cook the scallops as overcooking will make them rubbery.
Because some browned bits had formed at the bottom of the pan, I decided to rinse the pan and scrape away those bits (lesson learnt from past experience) if I want my sauce to look good. Add a drizzle of olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter into the pan over low heat as we want the butter to just melt, not brown.
Once the butter has melted, add in the mashed egg yolks and stir. At this point, most recipes would ask you to add milk or cream (but since I have neither and I don't do dairy), I added 2 tbsp of water instead to thin out the sauce just a little.
Sprinkle a pinch of sugar to add a hint of sweetness to the sauce. The salted egg yolks are plenty salty, so I don't think any salt is needed (though some might beg to differ, so it's your preference if you want to add a pinch). Keep stirring until you see the sauce bubbling and that's when you know it's ready.
Time to plate up. Spoon a dollop of sauce for each of the scallop to sit in, interspersed with the blanched sugar snap peas. And there you have it....my Seared Scallops & Sugar Snap Peas in Salted Egg Yolk Sauce.
It looks not bad I have to say but I was itching to make a prettier presentation...like a restaurant-quality one, so I dabbled with it and came up with this.
Can, ah? Did I put my knowledge (from watching all those cooking competitions like Masterchef and Top Chef) to good use?....hahaha! :D And one of the latest trends is for the sauce to be smeared (which I didn't do a very good job of) and for the food to occupy just one side of the plate! ;)
The juicy and slightly sweet scallops tasted great eaten with the rich and creamy salted egg yolk sauce. The sauce may look a bit coarse and grainy but it tastes fantastic (+ I kinda appreciate a bit of texture in my sauce). For better presentation, you may want to puree it for a smoother consistency.
I was pleasantly surprised at how well the salted egg yolk sauce turned out...and how easy it was to make it. I'm already thinking of more dishes I can make with this sauce.
I noticed that the scallops developed a really nice crisp crust this time because of the light dredging of flour. It also didn't stick to the pan so I was able to get a nice sear and I could taste the lovely grilled flavour too.
Pairing it with a cheaper alternative of sugar snap peas works just as well. They not only brought some colour to the dish but provided the crunchy element and fulfilled the necessary 'green' component of the dish as well.
Scallops are actually quite easy to prepare. And you don't have to make a complicated sauce. Simply seared in olive oil (and finished with some butter), it'll taste great with a squeeze of lemon.
One word.....yum! Just look at that scallop (up close and personal).....can anything be more delectable? I wonder if I'd be lucky enough to get more scallops in the future as a gift. Praying hard, fingers & toes crossed? ^_~
Serves 2 (as a starter) or 1 (as a light meal)
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