Love and Olive Oil

Scallops with Asparagus and Shiitake Mushrooms

So we’ve had some iffy recipes in the past few weeks. This one makes up for all of those. One of the best things we’ve eating in a while! The mushrooms practically melted in your mouth. Mmmmm! We will definitely be making this one again.

Taylor wants me to remind you to be sure to pat the scallops dry before sautéing them. They won’t brown if they’re watery. This is especially important if you use frozen scallops (like we did).

Scallops with Asparagus and Shiitake Mushrooms
Scallops with Asparagus and Shiitake Mushrooms

We didn’t know what hon-dashi was, or where to get it. I don’t know what it could have added to this dish to make it any better, as it was delicious without it.
Recipe from Epicurious. Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients
6 fresh asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons grated onion
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons sake
1 teaspoon hon-dashi, Japanese bonito-type soup stock granules, is sold at Asian markets.
Pinch of cayenne pepper
10 sea scallops

Directions
Cook asparagus in medium saucepan of boiling salted water 1 minute. Drain.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Add onion; stir 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sake, hon-dashi and cayenne; simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over high heat. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Add scallops to skillet and sauté until almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add asparagus and toss until heated through, about 1 minute. Add sauce and simmer 1 minute.

Divide between 2 plates and serve.

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2 Comments

  1. Hon-dashi is kind of like chicken boullion, except it’s based on bonito (an asian fish). You can usually buy it by the box from a Chinese or Japanese market.

    Having it on hand is extremely useful; bonito broth is the base for miso soup, and sometimes when I sautee veggies (ie bok choy), I’ll sprinkle some hon-dashi over it in lieu of salt.

  2. This was a very good meal. The texture of the asparagus and scallops compliment each other very well. One note, I recommend low sodium soy sauce, otherwise there may be a little to much salt for some tastes.

    Keep up the good work!

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