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.

Chili Los Mariscos

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This chili is a great way to use frozen shrimp and scallops. In the grand scheme of things, it's not hard to do and its a great way to waken tired taste buds. I am always leery of recipes that put delicate seafood in heavy or spicy sauces that are bound to overwhelm its lovely briney taste. This is a mild chili and you can add heat using pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, hot sauce or chipotles in adobo sauce. I prefer to use red pepper flakes or a bit of mashed chipotles in this dish. There is a harshness to cayenne and hot sauce that I find unpleasant when used with seafood. There is a bit of chopping and some wait time required to make this dish. The fish is marinated in a seviche type dressing for about an hour. While it stews the chili in which the fish will cook can be made. Any type of firm fleshed fish can be used to make this dish. I prefer to use shrimp and scallops because I love their texture. The only trick to making this dish work is to have the vegetables and seafood in pieces that are approximately the same size to ensure even cooking. I serve this over a mound of white or yellow rice in shallow soup bowls. I think you'll like this dish. Here's the recipe.

Chili Los Mariscos...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1/2 pound large raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 pound sea scallops
2 limes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, divided use
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, divided use
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided use
4 teaspoons minced garlic, divided use
1 fresh serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided use
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 large red bell pepper seeded and roughly chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/2 teaspoon mashed chipotle in adobo sauce
Salt and pepper
1-1/2 cups fish stock
1 (14-oz.) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14-oz.) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:
1) Place shrimp, scallops and lime slices in a large bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon chile powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 tablespoon cilantro, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, chopped chile and 2 tablespoons oil and toss to coat. Cover. Let sit at room temperature for one hour. Set aside.
2) Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add onions, reserved 2 teaspoons garlic, red and yellow peppers
and cook over low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, reserved 1 tablespoon chile powder, reserved 1 tablespoon cumin, cloves, and pepper flakes or mashed chipotle. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add stock and stewed tomatoes and cook, partially covered, for 25 minutes.
3) Add beans to tomato mixture and spoon fish or shell fish on top. Cover and cook for 10 minutes longer, or until fish is cooked through. Divide rice between four bowls. Spoon chili over rice. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Camarones a la Mexicana - One Perfect Bite
Chocolate and Black Bean Chili - One Perfect Bite
Vegetable and Black Bean Chili - One Perfect Bite

Scallops Provencal

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love scallops. Of all the things we take from the sea they are my hands down favorite. They have a history that dates back to Marco Polo who talked about them being sold in the markets of China. Not only are they rich, sweet and tender, they're also affordable. The name, by the way, comes from the French word escalope which means shell. Scallops need to move in order to stay alive, so we won't find them in their shells at the fish market. The part we are sold is actually the "adductor" muscle. Their color can range from pale beige to pink and they should look moist and smell fresh. They should never look pure white. White scallops usually have been sitting in water which causes them to lose nutrients as well as color. To assure freshness, I actually prefer to buy them flash frozen at the market and thaw them in the refrigerator. There are three basic sizes of scallops. The sea scallop is the largest; it's followed in size by bay and, finally, the tiny calico scallop. They have the advantage of cooking quickly and adapting themselves to various sauces. This recipe comes from Ina Garten. I think you'll enjoy this dish.

Scallops Provencal...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour for dredging
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, cut in half

Directions:
1) If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each one in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.
2) In a very large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter over high heat until sizzling and add a single layer of scallops. Lower the heat to medium and allow scallops to brown lightly on one side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes total. Melt remaining butter in the pan with scallops; add shallots, garlic, and parsley and sauté for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Finally, add wine and cook for 1 minutes longer. Pan sauce will thicken slightly. Adjust seasoning to taste to salt, pepper and lemon juice. Serve immediately: Yield 3 to 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from the Barefoot Contessa in Paris by Ina Garten.