Tonight I was inspired by a dish Kyle ordered while we were on vacation in Newport, RI. I don’t love scallops but Fluke restaurant served the best scallops I ever had. They were simply amazing. So I decided to give them another shot with a very simple preparation. Since they are so simple I wanted to come up with some flavorful and exciting side dishes.

This was my first time making soba noodles and I have no idea why I never made them before. The recipe is surprisingly easy to make even though I used a lot of ingredients. Its sweet and a tad spicy but very refreshing on a hot summer night. It also turns out these noodles have less calories than regular white flour pasta! The baby bok choy is prepared in a basic sauté and is a nice crunchy vegetable on the side. Overall, it was a great dinner with a nice balance of flavors. We both gave it two thumbs up. My favorite was the noodles and Kyle voted for the scallops.

SEARED SCALLOPS:
-Salt & Pepper
-Butter (1-2 tbsp depending on the size of your pan)
-Olive oil
-Sake, rice wine or white wine

Wash and pat dry the scallops. Add fresh cracked salt and pepper.
Heat your pan on high with butter and oil. Place scallops in pan making sure they don’t touch each other. Add wine.
Sear scallops for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side.

I had too much oil in my pan and that’s why I didn’t get a nice seared crust so learn from my mistake. Kyle says they were amazing nonetheless.

SWEET & SPICY GINGER AND SCALLION SOBA NOODLES:
-2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
-1 clove grated garlic
-1 bunch of scallions, finely chopped
-2-3 tbsp soy sauce
-2-3 tbsp rice vinegar
-cilantro
-fresh cracked pepper
-1-2 tbsp sesame oil
-1 tbsp hoisin sauce
-1 tbsp honey
-sriracha sauce (depends on how spicy you want it. I used about 1 tbsp but could have done more)
-sesame seeds
-julienned cucumbers (optional) I don’t have a julienne so I just spent a few minutes with a sharp knife and got the same effect.

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(fresh grated ginger)
Add all ingredients to a bowl except for the sesame seeds and cukes. Mix well and let sit for 15 minutes to let favors meld.

Cook soba noodles as directed and rinse with cold water.
Mix everything together and add sesame seeds and cukes.

BOK CHOY:
-1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
-2 cloves grated garlic
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
-few dashes soy sauce

Heat garlic and ginger in oil for a minute.
Add bok choy and season with s&p. Add a few dashes of soy sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Don’t forget to pair this dish with a delicious pear sake on the rocks!