Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from Harumi's Japanese Cooking , by Harumi Kurihara.
Ingredients
8 oz. very fresh scallops (without their coral)
salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
all-purpose flour — to dust the scallops
1-2 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons miso
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon superfine sugar (see note)
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 the scallops with the salt, pepper, and garlic and then lightly dust with flour.
2. Heat the 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 the pan off the heat and remove the scallops. Add the white wine and then the miso, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and water to pan and stir. Return to the heat and being to a boil, stirring, then remove. Mix in the mustard and heavy cream.
4. Tear the leaves off the watercress and arrange on a large plate. Chop the stems finely and set aside as a garnish. Place the scallops on the bed of watercress leaves, pour the hot sauce over, and garnish with the finely chopped watercress stems. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.
