Scallops, Grapefruit & Fried Rice
Submitted by llquinn
Seared bay scallops in a reduced grapefruit-butter sauce served over sesame fried rice with corn, snow peas, and peppers. A fusion seafood dinner with citrus brightness.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
20 minREADY
395 minThis is restaurant-style cooking at its smartest: bay scallops seared in a screaming-hot pan, then finished with a reduced grapefruit juice sauce that mounts with butter into something glossy and bracingly bright. Plated in the middle of a ring of confetti-bright fried rice, it’s the kind of dinner that looks like it took an hour but actually comes together in 20 minutes.
The overnight chilling of the rice is the technical foundation of any proper fried rice. Cold, dried rice grains stay separate in the pan instead of clumping into a porridge. Skip this step and the dish is doomed before you start.
Grapefruit juice is the unusual choice and the dish’s brilliance. Its acidity cuts through the richness of butter and scallops, while its slight bitterness echoes the savory sweetness of caramelized sea scallops in a way lemon or lime can’t replicate.
Chef Tips
- Pat the scallops bone-dry before searing, wet scallops steam instead of caramelizing
- Get the pan ripping hot, almost smoking, before the scallops touch it for the proper crust
- Don’t move the scallops for the first 2 minutes, that’s when the crust forms
- Use freshly squeezed grapefruit, bottled juice tastes flat after reduction
- Whisk the butter in off the heat to mount the sauce without breaking it
Variations
- Substitute large sea scallops, increasing the sear time to 2 minutes per side
- Swap shrimp or seared salmon for scallops with the same technique
- Add a teaspoon of grated ginger to the grapefruit reduction for added warmth
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the rice in the normal way and chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
Toss the rice with the soy sauce and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet or fry pan.
Add the onions and cook 1 minute.
Add corn and peppers and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes.
Add the snow peas and cook 30 seconds.
Add rice and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat.
Mix in the sesame oil and arrange the rice in a ring on a serving platter.
Keep warm in a 250 degrees F oven while cooking the scallops.
Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large non-reactive skillet over high heat until almost smoking.
Add the scallops and cook about 2 minutes without stirring.
Using a wooden spoon, stir to unstick any scallops that have adhered to the bottom of the skillet.
Add the grapefruit juice.
Cook about 30 seconds, then remove the scallops, using a slotted spoon, and reserve on a plate.
Reduce heat to medium and boil the grapefruit juice until reduced by half and it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
Replace the scallops and any juices that have collected on the plate.
Cook another 30 seconds, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
Remove the rice from the oven, pour scallops and sauce into the center of the rice ring and serve immediately.
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