Gingered Cucumber Salad With Scallops Recipes

Steps:

• With Asian or English cucumbers (or small garden cucumbers), slice thinly, preferably with a mandoline. With thick cucumbers, peel, halve lengthwise, and scoop out seeds before slicing.
• Mix vinegar, ginger, sugar and salt, and toss with cucumbers. Let stand for 30 to 60 minutes. (Refrigerate if marinating for more than an hour in warm weather.)
• Just before serving, drain excess liquid. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. Wait a minute, then add scallops or shrimp. Sear for about 2 minutes to a side, then remove to a plate. Turn heat to medium, add remaining oil, onions and turmeric, if you are using it. Cook until onion softens, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until browned and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir onions into cucumbers, top with scallops or shrimp, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve.

Steps:

• In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F.
• Blend the flour, cornstarch, sesame seeds, salt, sugar, baking powder, water, sake, chile sauce, and fish sauce together in a large bowl. Dip the shrimp and scallops in the batter, letting the excess batter drip back into the bowl and gently drop into the hot oil. Fry the shrimp and scallops until crisp and golden, about 4 to 5 minutes.
• To make the cucumber salad: Whisk together the ginger, sugar, chile flakes, rice vinegar, and fish sauce. Toss the cucumber in the dressing and divide between 2 plates.
• Remove the shrimp and scallops from the oil and drain on paper towels, season with salt. Place 2 shrimp and 1 scallop on each plate on top of the cucumber salad.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place beets in a baking dish with an inch of water. Tightly cover baking dish and roast for 1 hour or so, until beets are soft enough to yield to a fork and skins easily rub off. Peel beets, let them cool, then dice into 1/2-inch cubes. Alternatively, peel and dice raw beets, then simmer in salted water for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. (Beets may be cooked up to a day in advance.)
• Put scallops on a baking sheet, pat dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Drizzle or paint very lightly with olive oil, just to coat the surface. Leave at room temperature for 15 minutes to absorb seasoning. (Or refrigerate up to 6 hours in advance; bring to room temperature before proceeding.)
• Put onions, ginger and lime juice in a mixing bowl with a big pinch of salt. Let macerate for 10 minutes or so, then add beets and cucumber to bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat well with juices. Leave to marinate, tossing occasionally, for at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
• Prepare a bed of medium-hot coals for grilling or heat a stovetop grill pan. Lay the scallops on the grill and let them crisp gradually, for 5 minutes or so. Don't try to turn them until they are well browned or they'll stick. Flip and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more, until cooked through, but juicy.
• Transfer scallops to a serving dish in one layer. Spoon beets and cucumbers over the scallops and sprinkle with dill, mint and chives. Squeeze a little more lime juice over everything and drizzle with good fruity olive oil.

Steps:

• Peel half of the cucumbers, leaving the remaining cucumbers unpeeled. Using a sharp knife or a mandoline, very thinly slice the cucumbers crosswise. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, ginger, and salt until sugar has dissolved. Add cucumbers and toss to combine. Let marinate, refrigerated, for 3 hours. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cucumbers to a serving bowl.

Steps:

• Peel cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half into 1/4-inch slices and place in a medium bowl. Stir in red onion slices and set aside.
• Whisk vinegar, sugar, and ginger paste together in a small bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Add dressing to cucumber mixture and mix well. Stir in sesame seeds and refrigerate for about 1 hour to let the flavors meld.

Steps:

• Peel cucumbers if they have been waxed, then trim their ends and cut them in half the long way. Scoop out seeds with a teaspoon. Sprinkle each half with about 1/4 teaspoon of salt, then place them in a colander. Let drain for about 30 minutes. Rinse lightly, and drain again. Cut into 1/8-to- 1/4-inch-thick slices and place in a bowl.
• Mix together the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, chili, lemon grass and sugar. Thin with a tablespoon of water. Taste, and add more of any flavoring you wish. Toss dressing with cucumbers, and set aside.
• Place greens on a large platter. Put a large nonstick skillet over high heat. In a bowl, toss scallops with oil, then sprinkle them with salt and cayenne. When skillet begins to smoke, add scallops one at a time; do not crowd them. Cook for about 2 minutes on the first side, turning as they brown; depending on their size, cook for 1 to 3 minutes on the second side. (Scallops are best when their interior is slightly underdone; cut into one to check it.)
• Toss cucumbers with most of the herbs, and spoon them and the dressing over the greens. Top with the scallops. Drizzle with sesame oil, and top with remaining herbs. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Sprinkle the cucumbers with a generous amount of salt and let sit in a colander in the sink for 15 minutes. Rinse and dry on a kitchen towel. Transfer to a salad bowl.
• Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, cayenne, and pepper. Whisk in the sesame oil and the sunflower or grapeseed oil. Toss with the cucumbers, scallions, and cilantro. Chill until ready to serve.