Description
Seared Scallops with Coconut Lemongrass Sauce, fresh basil and lime zest. Healthy and delicious, this easy Thai inspired dinner is FULL of amazing flavor and quick to make. OK to sub Shrimp for scallops!
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 4 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 stalk of fresh lemongrass (about 4–5 inches), smashed
- 2 thin slices ginger (optional)
- 14-ounce can coconut milk (full fat is best here)
- 1 large lime – zest and juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce, plus more to taste
- few slices red chili (optional)
- 1 – 1 1/4 pound large scallops (about 4 ounces per person, or 3–4 large scallops )
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil for searing (or vegetable oil)
- salt and pepper
- 8 leaves of fresh basil – cut into thin ribbons
- Serve with cooked rice and sriracha.
- Kaffir lime leaves (optional) – see notes below
Instructions
- Put a small pot of rice to cook on stove. In a small sauce pan, simmer shallot in vinegar on low heat, until vinegar reduces almost completely, about 5 minutes.
- Add coconut milk, ½ of the lime zest (save the rest for garnish) the smashed lemongrass and the ginger, and simmer gently on medium low heat for 5 minutes. Do not over boil. Stir in 1 ½ teaspoons fish sauce and 1 tablespoon lime juice, turn the heat off and taste. Adjust with more lime or fish sauce if you want. Add a few slices of fresh red chili for heat. Set aside and let flavors infuse while the rice is cooking.
- Gently rinse and pat dry scallops. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a skillet, heat coconut oil over medium heat. When the skillet is hot add the scallops and sear each side 2-3 minutes (depending on the size). When done to your liking, set aside and give a little squeeze of lime. When ready to serve, warm up the sauce just a bit, and strain.
- Assemble the bowls. Divide rice, top with scallops, then spoon the flavorful lemongrass coconut sauce over top, garnishing with fresh basil ribbons and remaining lime zest.
- Enjoy!
Notes
For added heat, serve with sriracha sauce. If you are able find Thai basil, this would work great here. If you have access to kaffir lime leaves, drop a couple in your rice water and the coconut sauce. Kaffir lime leaves can be frozen, and I always try to have some on hand in my freezer. The recipe tastes good without them, so don’t let this stop you if you can’t find any. The recipe is enough for 4 servings, but if cooking for two, cut back on the scallops, but make the same amount of sauce…. as you will want to pour any extra over your rice.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 scallops served with rice
- Calories: 514
- Sugar: 1.2 g
- Sodium: 1190.2 mg
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated Fat: 19.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.6 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 35.3 g
- Cholesterol: 61.2 mg