Seared Scallops in Ponzu, Orange Brown Butter

Ingredients

• ~1-1.25 lbs scallops (roughly 3 per person, adjust as needed)

  • Salt and olive oil for cooking

• 1 stick of butter

  • Note: ideally unsalted, but if you are using salted use slightly less ponzu which is high in salt

• ~3 tbsps ponzu

  • Substitute: soy sauce, coconut aminos, tamari—you will want to use a little less of these ingredients and more orange juice

• 1 orange (juice and zest) or 1-2 tbsps orange juice

  • Substitute: you can use lemon or lime, but if so, you will want to add a little honey or brown sugar to mimic the sweetness of the orange juice

Method

Scallops:

• Use paper towels to pat scallops dry, then season with

• Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil up in a skillet until piping hot

• Put scallops in the pan and do not touch them for 2-3 minutes

  • Tip: scallops will naturally release from the pan when they are cooked—if you try to pick them up or flip them and find then sticking to the pan, they are not done. When they easily release and have a golden brown crust, that means they are done on that side

• Flip and cook for another 2ish minutes until the 2nd side also releases and has a golden brown crust

• Transfer to plate so they don’t continue to cook in pan

  • Note: even if you turn the heat off, the skillet will still be very hot so scallops, or anything you have in there, will continue to cook

Sauce:

• Melt butter in a pan and add in ponzu

• Stir frequently until the butter has bubbled at the top and deepened in color

• Once the butter is done browning, add a tablespoon or so of orange juice or juice from about 1/4 of an orange

• Taste and adjust flavors as needed

• Pour over scallops and top with orange zest