Soy Citrus Scallops

This is a delicious scallop recipe that's incredibly easy and quick to make. The original recipe is from Cooking Light's April 2009 issue. We found the scallops to be quite tender, a little bit sweet, and just a touch spicy. Perfect! I paired it with a side salad, though next time I'll certainly try the veggie side dish that CL recommends.

We substituted Bay Scallops for the Sea Scallops, so I didn't even attempt to sear them. From the Cooking Light website, many people suggest not marinating the scallops first, but instead searing them first, cooking down the marinade liquid, and adding the scallops back at the end. For me, I marinated my bay scallops, then cooked them 80% of the way, boiled down the sauce, and added them back in. They came out perfectly!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee) (I just used hot sauce and 2 cloves of chopped garlic)
  
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil, divided
• 1 pound large sea scallops
• 4 cups hot cooked soba (about 6 ounces uncooked buckwheat noodles) (I used Ramen noodles instead)
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Directions

1. Combine first 6 ingredients and 1 teaspoon oil in a shallow baking dish; add scallops to dish in a single layer. Marinate 4 minutes on each side.

2. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove scallops from dish, reserving marinade. Add scallops to pan; sauté 1 minute on each side or until almost done. Remove scallops from pan; keep warm. Place remaining marinade in pan; bring to a boil. Return scallops to pan; cook 1 minute. Toss noodles with salt and green onions. Place 1 cup noodle mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 3 scallops, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon sauce.