50 Women Game Changers in Food - #42 Harumi Kurihara - Scallop Sauté with Miso Sauce - Hotate no Sauté Miso Sauce

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...In culinary circles, Harumi Kurihara is known as the Japanese Martha Stewart. She certainly is as prolific and the scope of her operations is large given the size of her country. Her business acumen and culinary skills have earned her a well-deserved slot on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game Changers in Food. She is one of the best known food writers in Japan and over the course of her career she has published 115 cookbooks and is credited with 4,000 original recipes. A complete list of the books she has authored can be found, here. The recipes she develops are meant for the Japanese housewife and her business empire is also designed to provide goods and services that meet their needs. In addition to writing, she appears on television and operates 55 stores and 13 restaurants throughout Japan. This dynamo was born in 1947 and learned to cook by osmosis in her mother's kitchen. Like so many other of the women we've featured these past months, there was not an original intent to cook or write. She married a TV newscaster and often entertained his colleagues who became enchanted with her cooking. Her first job in the TV industry was as an assistant to the host of a cooking show. Six years later she published her first book. She says that that book and the others that followed it, were motivated by her love of family and her wish to make delicious food for them. As her reputation grew, she began to publish a lifestyle magazine that features many of her designs and that venture has also been successful. Her first English cookbook, Harumi's Japanese Cooking, was published several years ago. The recipe I am featuring comes from that book. In Japan, this dish would be served as an appetizer, rather than a main course. It is delicious, but I would recommend you use a white or yellow miso, rather than a red to prepare it. Red miso will overpower the inherent sweetness of the scallops. It is also important that the scallops be dry when they are put into the frying pan. I hope you will give this dish a try. Here's the recipe.

Scallop Saute with Miso Sauce...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Harumi Kurihara.

Ingredients:
8 oz. very fresh scallops
salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
all-purpose flour — to dust the scallops
1-2 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons white or yellow miso
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1-2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons heavy cream
small bunch watercress
freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions:
1) Season scallops with salt, pepper, and garlic and then lightly dust with flour.
2) Heat oil in a small frying pan. Briefly fry both sides of the scallops until seared on the outside, but still rare in the middle.
3) Take pan off heat and remove scallops. Add dry sherry and then miso, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and water to pan and stir. Return to heat and bring to a boil. Stir and remove pan from heat. Mix in mustard and heavy cream.
4) Tear leaves off watercress and arrange on a large plate. Chop stems finely and set aside as a garnish. Place scallops on bed of watercress leaves, pour hot sauce over, and garnish with finely chopped watercress stems. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Yield: 4 servings.

The following bloggers are also featuring the recipes of Harumi Kurihara today. I hope you'll pay them all a visit. They are great cooks who have wonderful blogs.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef, Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades
Mary - One Perfect Bite, Sue - The View from Great Island, Barbara - Movable Feasts
Linda A - There and Back Again, Nancy - Picadillo, Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen, Annie - Most Lovely Things, Jeanette - Healthy Living
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook, Alyce - More Time at the Table
Kathy - Bakeaway with Me, Martha - Simple Nourished Living, Jill - Saucy Cooks

Next week we will highlight the career and recipes of April Bloomfield. It will be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information no later than Monday, April 9th.