Tabasco Teriyaki Seared Sea Scallops

Probably my all time favorite seafood item is Sea Scallops. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t catch me turning down Lobster, Crab Legs, or even Shrimp, but there is just something about a nicely seared Sea Scallop that really works for me. Whenever I have the opportunity, I try and have some. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I found some at my local grocer. Not the largest I’d ever seen, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right? With Ginny here this weekend to appreciate them with me, we made one of my favorite scallop dishes, Tabasco Teriyaki Sea Scallops. Unfortunately, they sat in the fridge longer than I would have liked and we ended up cooking and eating them at 9:00pm last night because of an unexpected run to the ER to get some stitches in the hubs’ hand. (He’s fine, just cut his hand pretty bad on a piece of tin and I didn’t think leaving it to close on its own would be a wise idea. As it turned out, the doctor agreed with me even though the hubs is still not convinced.)

SO, without further ado…..SCALLOPS!

Tabasco Teriyaki Seared Sea Scallops
8-10 Large Sea Scallops
Tabasco
Bottled Teriyaki Sauce
Mixed bell peppers, chopped or sliced
Sugar snap peas

Defrost the scallops, if necessary and dry thoroughly with a paper towel. The scallops will not sear well if they are wet. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper.

Gently place each scallop in a HOT pan and let it sear. Resist the urge to turn it. If it hasn’t seared yet, bits of it will just stick to the pan and you can tear them apart. Gently nudge them and when they move easily, you can flip them and repeat on the other side. This won’t take long if you have nice scallops. Mine had been frozen a little too long, so they weren’t very cooperative. Once they are seared, remove them from the pan. Scallops aren’t meant to be “well done”, so if you remove them after they are seared, they should be wonderfully tender inside.

Meanwhile, in the same pan, add the vegetables, several dashes of Tabasco (to taste) and a large splash of your favorite bottled teriyaki sauce. Sauté the vegetables until the y are crisp/tender, then add the scallops back into the pan to coat with the sauce.
Normally, I would serve this over some nice noodles, but since we’re dieting, I opted for no carbs. Beautiful, no?