Seafood

Scallops in garlic and butter served with Leek and onion in cream cheese

Ingredients:

For the scallops:

-        12 big scallops with or without coral

-        6 big cloves of garlic

-        2 tablespoons vegetable oil

-        20 grammes butter, natural

-        Parsley to garnish

For the Leek and onion:

-        1 leek, white and light green part only

-        1 onion

-        1 tablespoon cooking oil

-        10 gramme or a big knob of butter

-        2 tablespoons cream cheese

-        Sea salt to taste, about 1 teaspoon

Method:

1.      Clean the scallops, you can keep the coral or discard them, but make sure you dry the scallop thoroughly with kitchen or paper towel.

2.      Chop the garlic finely and cut the leek in ½ cm fine rings. Cut the onion into half lengthwise and cut them into ½ cm strips.  Set them aside.

3.      If you are using scallops with coral:

-        heat a frying pan with high heat, put 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and half (10 grammes) of butter in, when the butter and oil becomes very hot but not burning, put 6 scallops in.  That means you cook the scallops in 2 batches, it is because scallops with coral will give out a lot more juice (no matter how much you try to dry them with paper towels) and the pan will not be hot enough to cook all 12 together.

-        Pan fry the scallops and turn them when one side of the scallops are sealed, now sprinkle the chopped garlic evenly in the pan and cooked them together with the scallop. Do not stir the scallops because you will damage the coral. 

-        When both sides are sealed, turn the heat to medium so that you will not burn the garlic but let the scallops cook through. Cook the other batch as above and set them aside when they are cooked.

4.      However, If you use scallop without coral:

-        Heat a frying pan or wok with high heat. Put 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and 20 grammes of butter in, when the butter melted and the oil becomes very hot but not burning, put in all the scallops, wait till they slightly turn colour and no juice is coming out from the scallops, stir in the chopped garlic and stir fry them with the scallops. Sauteed till the garlic turn brown and the scallops are cooked and set aside.

5.      Heat up the wok or frying pan again with high heat, add 1 tablespoon cooking oil and the big knob of butter. When the butter melted, add in the onion and the leek. Stir fry them till they are soft, add salt to taste, about 1 teaspoon, and turn the heat down to medium.

6.      Add the cream cheese into the leek and onion and stir well, depends on the brand of the cream cheese you use, you may need to add a tablespoon of water or liquid to the vegetable to get the consistency you want.

7.      When the cream cheese melted evenly into the vegetables, add half of the oil/juice without the garlic from the scallops and stir well. Put the vegetables on a serving plate and put the scallops with the other half of the oil/juice and all the garlics on top. Garnish with parsley before serving.

Hints:

-        If the scallops are not dry enough and the oil is not hot enough, the scallops will swim in their own juice in 

     the pan. If this happens, drain off the juice immediately and put in another knob of butter to continue cooking.

     You can retain the juice and put them in the vegetables.

-        Chinese cook would sometimes blanched the scallops for 10 – 20 seconds in boiling water or hot oil first, this is to make sure the scallops have given out all the juice and will not do so while cooking.

-        Because the oil has to be very hot when putting the scallops in, I choose to put the garlic after the scallops are slightly cooked and no juice is coming out so that the garlic could be properly cooked but not burnt.

-        Butter is very easy to be burnt, mixing with another kind of oil will help to avoid burning so easily.

-        Do not overcook the scallop, it will be rubbery. Also do not undercook it, though the texture will be smoother but it will not taste as sweet as it should be. Touch them to check if it is just done by the same way you check the doneness of a beef steak.