How to Cook Scallops?
I love scallops, I would cook and make them every day if they are not so expensive. They are one of the best ingredients from the sea.
There are many ways to make scallops:
- Sauteed scallops.
- Baked scallops
- Grilled scallops
- In a pasta such as creamy scallops pasta
- In a stew such as seafood stew
Other Scallop Recipes You Might Like
Sauteed Scallops
One of the best scallop recipes are sauteed scallops on the stove using a skillet. I love cast-iron skillet for a simple saute recipe. All you need are some olive oil, melted butter and minced garlic.
The garlic sauce calls for white wine, salt, ground black pepper and cayenne pepper. It’s really that easy!
Dry Scallops (Natural) vs. Wet Scallops (Soaked)
There are two kinds of scallops available in the market:
Natural/untreated (Dry) and treated/soaked with water (Wet). When it comes to scallops, you want to get dry, natural and untreated sea scallops.
Dry scallops are milky and creamy white in color, sometimes with a slight pale yellow or pink tint. They are soft to the touch and the surface does not feel slippery. The flesh smells of the sea, and they are absolutely briny, sweet, and delightful. They are expensive.
Wet scallops are treated with water and phosphates. They are are less expensive but trust me, you don’t want to get those. They are smooth and slippery to the touch, translucent, and when rinsed with water, the water bubbles up.
Those are the clear indications that they are not natural but treated. Avoid them because they taste nothing like the natural and “real” scallops. In fact, they are bland with no sweet or briny flavors after cooking.
How Many Calories Per Serving?
This scallop recipe is only 236 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with this Recipe?
This meal is best served with a pasta or as a main dish. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
5 Secrets to 20 Min Dinners
Get tricks for quick & easy meals!
Garlic Scallops
One of the best scallop recipes is garlic scallops where fresh sea scallops are sauteed with garlic butter wine sauce. Quick and easy recipe that takes 15 mins from start to finish.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. (0.4 kg) natural and untreated scallops
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 dashes ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley leaves
Instructions
- Rinse the scallops with cold water and remove the tough ligament from the side of the scallops. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Heat up a skillet (cast-iron preferred) on medium to high heat. When it's fully heated, add the olive oil and butter. Saute the garlic for a little bit and add the scallops, pan-sear until both surfaces turn brown. Add the white wine, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Bring it to a light simmer or until the inside of the scallops are cooked through. Turn off heat and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size
3 peopleAmount Per Serving Calories 236Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 56mgSodium 609mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 19g
Toni Wood
I think I’ll try this recipe but first I live in a small rural area of TN about 400 miles from the closest ocean so my scallops will be frozen just like the rest of the seafood we eat. Enough garlic can overcome anything! LOL
Rasa Malaysia
Frozen scallops will work just fine.
Judy
What would you serve with the scallops? Rice, noodles, fries?
Mahy Elamin
What a fantastic recipe. Super delicious. This website is going to make a good cook out of me yet!
Crab Dynasty
The preparation of them was easy, and they came out great. They sear pretty quickly on each side (about 1.5-2 mins on each side) carfull not to overcook or rhey will turn to rubber. Along with the fresh garlic, I also sprinkled some Old Bay on top of them. Let’s just say, they were “The other side of heaven.”
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks for trying my garlic scallops.
Renelle
What kind of white wine?
Rasa Malaysia
Any kind of white wine will do.
Jill
How long do you sear on each side? I need a little more direction.
Rasa Malaysia
Sear about 1 minute (uninterrupted), then turn. The surface should turn brown. It all depends on how big your scallop is, some takes longer to cook through.
CC
Hi,
Can I use sake instead of white wine?
Thanks
Rasa Malaysia
Yes!
Timothy Hinchliff
I think it wrong to say that you do not want to use the “wet” scallops. The thing is, in many parts of the country the “dry” scallops are very hard to find. Does that mean you can’t have flavorable scallops? Not at all. You can let the “white” ones soak in 1L of water, 2 TBS kosher salt and 1/4 c lemon juice for 30 minutes and the flavors will come out to a fair degree. Not quite as good as the dry, but still fairly good.
Rasa Malaysia
Good tips thanks Timothy! :)
Brandi
My scallops don’t specify if they are natural
Or not. How can I tell?
Rasa Malaysia
The natural scallops (untreated) smells like seafood. It has a nice soft touch and not slippery or soapy. It’s also yellowish in color. The ones treated with water looks plump, smooth to the touch and no smell. The taste of natural scallops vs treated scallops are day and night. Treated ones have no taste whatsoever.
Kathleen Gausmann
Oh, thank you, Timothy! I live in Wisconsin. Kind of hard to find dry scallops here.
E. Esbenshade
To get the scallops brown, the garlic is super burnt. Not so good….!!
Rasa Malaysia
Did you push the garlic to the site so they don’t get burned? If not, you can pan-sear the scallops first before and set them aside, then add them bac after you saute the garlic.
Mahesh Patel
Looks Tasty n healthy