When French cooking techniques meet Japanese ingredients, the results are surprisingly delightful!
Although it’s only early May, the feeling of summer has already arrived! So, this time, I’m preparing a French-Japanese fusion cold dish to combat the heat. This recipe uses a French culinary technique called “Beurre Noisette” to prepare scallops. In French, Beurre means butter, and Noisette means hazelnut. The idea is that when butter is cooked to a brown colour, it emits a nutty, hazelnut aroma, making it incredibly fragrant.
Using brown butter to cook scallops not only allows them to absorb the nutty aroma but also helps them stay tender and have an excellent texture. Additionally, I’ve created a sweet and flavourful sauce using white miso and lemon, which pairs wonderfully with crisp asparagus. This dish is refreshing and appetizing, making it a perfect choice for an appetizer or salad! The video is ready for you, and the text recipe is available further down.
Ingredients (serve 4)
Basic Ingredients
Scallops | 8 pcs |
|---|---|
Salt | ½ tsp |
Unsalted Butter | 100g |
Asparagus | 3-4 sticks |
Lemon Juice | 1-2 tsp |
Miso Lemon Sauce
White Miso | 40g |
|---|---|
Lemon Juice | 1 tbsp |
Garlic | 1 clove |
Water | 2 tbsp |
Mirin | 1 tbsp |
Extra Virgin Olive Oil | 70ml |
Garnish
Parsley | To taste |
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Edible Flower | To taste |
Steps
1.
Pat the scallops dry and sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt on the surface. Peel the lower part of the asparagus and cut off the tougher ends.
2.
To make the lemon miso sauce: Place garlic, white miso, mirin, water, a small amount of lemon juice, and olive oil in a blender and blend until smooth (add some sugar if you prefer it sweeter). Set aside.
3.
Prepare a large bowl of room-temperature water.
4.
Cut the butter into small pieces and place it in a pan. Over medium-low heat, slowly melt the butter, occasionally shaking the pan to ensure even heating. Continue heating until the butter boils, bubbles, and starts to turn light brown. Stir occasionally with a tool.
5.
When the bubbling subsides and the butter turns into a deep brown foam, turn off the heat. Immediately immerse the pan in the room-temperature water while stirring the butter to stop the cooking process. Let it cool for about 5 minutes.
6.
Strain the browned butter through a sieve into a clean pan.
7.
Heat the browned butter over low heat, but do not let it boil. Maintain a warm temperature (about 60°C), add the scallops, and marinate for 5 minutes on each side, then remove and pat the scallops dry.
8.
In another pan, add a small amount of the browned butter used for marinating the scallops. Over medium heat, cook the asparagus until golden, then remove from the pan.
9.
Slice the cooked asparagus, squeeze a little lemon juice over it, and season with salt. Mix well and set aside.
10.
To serve: Arrange the scallops on a plate, layering them to form a mound. Top with the asparagus slices and drizzle the lemon miso sauce over the top.
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