Miso Butter Scallops with Bok Choy
Happy Monday! You know what’s 5 days away?! Chinese New Year! Actually, I should get better at saying Lunar New Year and be more inclusive… just a habit of calling it CNY my whole life. We got a busy week of recipe testing week before we head up to Tahoe for the weekend!
If you saw my IG post yesterday, then you know that I’m writing a COOKBOOK!!!! A real dang cookbook. Me! It feels great now that it’s finally out in the open and I don’t have to be that annoying person talking about her “top secret project”. It feels unreal. Never in a million years did I think I would be writing a cookbook. I mean, it’s always been a dream of mine… but purely far distant dream. I’m planning on sharing more about the book either in a more length blog post or maybe in little bits throughout the year. What I will tell you now is that it’s going to be about Chinese bakeries and filled with recipes for bakery favorites like egg tarts, steamed buns, fluffy cakes topped with fruit, and SO. MUCH. MORE. I’m so excited! It’s scheduled to come out Fall 2021 or hopefully by Lunar New Year 2022 you’ll be making some festive recipes from MY BOOK!
Ok, but back to LNY 2020! The new year is about finding your way back home. Back to where your loved ones are and spending time with them over a feast of prosperous food! It’s been a few years since I’ve been able to celebrate with my family in Cleveland : ( but hopefully they know I’m back in spirit and that if I could afford to fly home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, LNY, and every other month I totally would.
Reuben and I will be spending the new year in Tahoe with a few friends that pretty much feel like family! Some years we’ll go out to dinner at Chili House or fit as many people as we can into our apartment for a feast. I’ve been scheming how I’m going to be be able to cook a big dinner in an Airbnb kitchen. Cooking in an Airbnb kitchen almost always feels like an episode of Chopped or Cutthroat Kitchen. I’ll back my own knives this time.
You can pretty much eat whatever you want on LNY. It’s your life. But typically the dishes resemble things like money or represent prosperity and longevity. Lucky foods. Dumplings resemble little bags of money. Noodles equal long life. My Pau Pau’s steamed cupcakes or “fa gao” determine how much good fortune the year will bring based on how tall they puff up. Scallops look like a pile of golden coins!
These Miso Butter Scallops with Bok Choy is my first recipe of the week leading up to LNY! At any Chinese feast you’ll find platters of vegetables topped with glorious seafood. These scallops are from Fulton Fish Market and were delivered fresh and right to my door within just a few days! More about that below. They are seared in miso butter and then you make a luscious and easy pan sauce at the end. It’s heaven and soooooooooo quick and easy to make! It would make an excellent addition to your LNY table or just a lovely dinner when you’re feeling slightly fancy!
Make Your Own Miso Butter!
Miso butter is crazy easy to make. All you do is blend together 1 stick of softened unsalted butter and 1 tbsp of white miso until smooth. I also love to add a little honey to the mix if I want to serve it with some warm bread or biscuits. MMMMMMMMM!
The recipe makes for a little extra butter than you need. But you’ll thank me for it later when you add it some pasta, sear some chicken in it, or top your Sunday pancakes with it!
How to Get the Freshest Seafood!
I’m fully aware that not all of you live in San Francisco, with access to the best seafood. I feel spoiled that some of our favorite seafood markets are just a few blocks from us on Clement Street. But they don’t have EVERYTHING. However, Fulton Fish Market literally has everything (they have the biggest assortment of fresh seafood in the world!!!) and they deliver it straight to your door!
If I could eat some form of seafood everyday I would! It’s healthy, it’s light, and if sourced responsibly it’s a sustainable way to eat! Fulton Fish Market encourages everyone to eat seafood at least twice a week! I fully support that notion! And if you want to start working on upping your seafood consumption (maybe make these Miso Butter Scallops!) use the code EATCHOFOOD and enjoy 10% off! I’m always down for a deal!
Miso Butter Seared Scallops with Bok Choy
serves 2 as a meal or 4 shared
Miso Butter:
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter - softened
1 tbsp white miso paste
Seared Scallops:
4 tbsp miso butter - divided
2 tbsp olive oil - divided
¾ lb scallops - patted dry
½ tsp salt
¼ cup water
Bok Choy:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves - minced
10-12 baby bok choy - sliced in half lengthwise1 tsp soy
Steps:
Place softened butter and miso paste in a small bowl. Mix until combined and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp of miso butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Be careful not to burn the miso butter. Once the skillet has heated up for about 1 minute, cook the scallops, working in 2 batches. Place the scallops in the pan and sear for 1-2 minutes, until browned. Flip and sear for 1-2 more minutes. Remove scallops from the skillet. Add another 1tbsp of miso butter and 1tbsp of olive oil in the pan and repeat with remaining scallops.
Reduce the heat to medium low, add 2 tbsp of miso butter and water to the pan. Scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon or spatula. Simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Pour the pan into a small side dish.
Increase the heat back up to medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and minced garlic to the pan. Cook for 1 minute. Add the bok choy to the pan. Cook and toss the bok choy for 4-5 minutes, until tender. Add soy sauce and cook for 1 more minute.
Place the bok choy in a serving dish. Top with scallops and pour pan sauce over the scallops and bok choy.