Citrus-Sesame Scallops on Soba

Looking for a clean meal packed full of nutrition and flavor? Look no further! This meal suits a weekday perfectly with a healthy blend of ingredients and only a few steps. Even better, the leftovers' flavor intensifies overnight and makes an outstandingly refreshing cold soba noodle salad for lunch the next day!

Nothing makes an average work day better like knowing you have a delicious, healthy meal to look forward to at lunchtime. This recipe serves 4 for dinner, or 2 dinners and 2 lunches. The vegetables are tossed raw with the sauce and hot noodles to retain their crunch and bright color. A sprinkle of furikake, squeeze of fresh lime, and a few cilantro sprigs finish it off with an ultra fresh zing of flavor.

For beautiful, perfectly cooked scallops, keep a lookout for dry scallops. We prefer to buy the absolute freshest scallops available for dishes where they're center-stage, and use frozen for mixed seafood dishes and soups. These beauties came from Santa Monica Seafood and were well worth the fishmonger's bill! Remove the foot (the small piece of meat attached to scallop's edge) and discard (or, like us, feed to your spoiled cats!). Pat the scallops nicely dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once in the pan, only touch the scallops once to flip them and once to remove them. Not messing with them is crucial to getting that delicious golden crust! We can't stress this enough!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 large Dry Scallops, fresh (see above for prep instructions)
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 bundle buckwheat soba noodles
• 3 green onions, sliced diagonally
• 1 large carrot, julienned (we use on like this)
• 1/4 head of purple cabbage sliced
• 1/2 cup Napa cabbage, sliced
• 1/2 cup sweet onion, shaved
• 1/2 cup minced cilantro
• lime wedges for garnish
• furikake (optional)

• 1 cup tangerine or orange juice (fresh squeezed)
• 1 small shallot, chopped
• 2 Tbsp ginger, grated
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 4 Tbsp ponzu sauce
• 1 tsp chili oil
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp jalapeno, minced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Using immersion blender or food processor, blend tangerine juice through jalapeno and taste. Adjust seasonings to your taste. Set aside.
2. Bring large pot of water to boil.
3. Prepare vegetables (above), set aside.
4. Boil soba for 5 minutes or until tender. Do not overcook.
5. Drain and return soba to same pot. Add sauce to taste. Toss. Keep warm over low heat.
6. Heat 1 Tbsp sesame oil in skillet over high heat.
7. Add scallops to pan, swirling each scallop lightly in oil and moving to the outside of the pan, so that you can continue adding scallops.
8. Cook 3-5 minutes, watching carefully as the bottoms turn golden and the bottom third of the scallop turns opaque (from translucent).
9. Add last 1 Tbsp sesame oil to pan. Flip each scallop with spatula. Set again for 3-5 minutes until golden crust forms.
10. Toss vegetables with hot soba and arrange on plate. Top with scallops, cilantro, a few lime wedges and a few shakes of furikake.
11. Enjoy!