Orkney scallops with Indonesian rice porridge and turmeric broth
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 4
This fresh, delicately spiced dish celebrates sweet, hand-dived scallops in all their glory!
Ingredients
For the turmeric broth
- 2 small banana shallots, roughly chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground to a coarse powder
- 1 tbsp macadamia nuts, toasted
- 2 lemongrass stalks, roughly chopped
- 8 lime leaves, shredded
- 3cm/1in piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 5cm/2in piece turmeric, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp neutral oil, such as avocado
- 1 litre/1¾ pints chicken stock
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the rice porridge
- 200g/7oz jasmine rice
- 1 litre/1¾ pints chicken stock
- 1 star anise
- 1 bay leaf
- 2cm/¾in piece ginger, cut into rough slices
- sea salt
For the scallops
- 4 large or 12 small hand-dived Orkney scallops, prepped
- 1 tbsp neutral oil, such as avocado
- few drops sesame oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- 50g/1¾oz handful crispy shallots
- 1 red chilli, sliced on the diagonal
- 4 spring onions, sliced
- coriander cress
- 2cm/1in piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
Method
To make the turmeric broth, put the shallots, garlic, ground coriander, macadamia nuts, lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger, turmeric and some black pepper in a food processor with a little water and blend to a smooth paste.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a low heat. Fry the paste for about 10 minutes until it changes colour and becomes fragrant.
Pour in the chicken stock, bring to the boil and then simmer over a low heat while you make the rice porridge.
To make the rice porridge, wash the rice in cold water and drain.
Bring the chicken stock to a boil with the star anise, bay leaf and ginger and then add the rice. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 20–25 minutes until the rice has broken down to a porridge texture. Season with sea salt to taste.
To make the scallops, make sure they are very dry – pat down with kitchen paper if necessary.
Season both sides of the scallops generously with salt and pepper immediately before cooking.
Place a frying pan over a medium-high to high heat and let it get very hot for a few minutes. Add the neutral oil; it should shimmer and be almost smoking. Carefully place the scallops in the pan in a single layer, ensuring at least an inch of space between each one to prevent steaming.
Do not move them for 2 minutes, until a deep golden-brown crust forms on the bottom. They should release easily from the pan when ready to flip, use tongs to gently flip the scallops.
Cook for another minute and then finish with a few drops of sesame oil.
To serve, ladle the rice porridge into serving bowls and top with the scallops and garnishes.
Decant the turmeric broth into a jug and pour over the dishes at the table, then serve at once.
