Today was a great day!  Phong came home from his deployment, and as a welcome home dinner, I made Seared Scallops with Citrus-Honey glaze.  I served it with slightly steamed green beans and mushroom-herb risotto from Trader Joe’s.  Yes, so some of you may know that we don’t have Trader Joe’s in Hawaii (but why the Aloha decor IN Trader Joe’s?  They’re just teasing me!).  So when I go home to visit family in California, I stock up!  The risotto we buy is a once-in-a-while thing, so what better day to crack it open than today?

Scallops have a wonderful texture; tender, chewy and with a delicate flavor.  A typical serving size (3 scallops) provides only 100 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 17 grams of protein – a great lean protein source.  Here, I prepare them seared over olive oil but with a tiny bit of butter to help with the browning and caramelization.  The citrus-honey glaze is a savory and surprising compliment over it all.  I hope you all enjoy it as much as Phong did!

Seared Scallops with Citrus-Honey Glaze

For the glaze:

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Maggi seasoning sauce (or soy sauce)

1/2 Tbsp honey

1 garlic clove, minced finely

1 Tbsp green onion, finely chopped

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

For the scallops:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 Tbsp butter

1 pound scallops

1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed

For the glaze, combine the orange juice, seasoning sauce, honey, garlic, green onion, and black pepper in a small bowl.  Set aside.

In a 12-14″ skillet over high heat, add the olive oil and butter.  When the fat starts to smoke, gently add the scallops.  Sear both sides of the scallops, about 2-4 minutes each side.  The scallops should feel firm to the touch but still tender inside – beware of overcooking them, as they will dry out.  Remove the scallops and set aside.  Turn the heat off, and add the citrus-honey glaze.  Stir it around in the pan, scraping up the good bits.  Let the glaze bubble and concentrate for a couple minutes; set the pan aside.

For the green beans, you can either steam them, roast them, sautee them – I chose to lightly steam them.

Putting it all together, place 3/4 cup of risotto or other starch you’ve decided to use.  Arrange some of the green beans on the starch, and finally place 3 scallops on top of everything.  Scoop one tablespoon of your citrus-honey pan glaze and drizzle over the scallops.  Serves 4.  Bon appetit!

For dessert, Phong had a tasty surprise for me.  On the way back home, he had a layover in Japan and picked up a couple of fun things.  I opened up these pretty packages and found dainty little mochi (sweet rice cakes) and a “Tokyo Sweet Roll,” which was a cute little matcha green tea cake that was not too sweet and very light.  Kind of too cute to eat!  I always am excited to get oversea goodies!  Thank you hubby – so glad you’re home now!