East coast-style scallop and shrimp rice with citrus, ginger and green beans, built around fresh Atlantic seafood.
This seafood rice pulls from the fishing communities of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where sea scallops and shrimp landed that morning often go straight into a simple rice dinner rather than anything fussy. Rice is cooked in a light seafood stock, and green beans are added partway through so they stay bright and snappy rather than turning grey and limp. The citrus and ginger lean into the fresh, clean way East Coast cooks tend to season seafood, brightening the richness of pan-seared scallops without masking their sweetness. Scallops need only a couple of minutes per side in a hot pan to develop a deep golden crust while staying translucent and tender in the center, which is the single most important technique in this dish -- overcooked scallops turn rubbery fast. Finished with a scatter of chives and a final squeeze of lemon, this is a quick, elegant seafood dinner that showcases quality shellfish rather than burying it under heavy sauce.
Serves 4
Bring stock to a boil, add rice and a pinch of salt, cover and simmer 16 to 18 minutes until tender. Let stand covered off heat for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
While the rice cooks, blanch green beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, then plunge into ice water to keep them crisp and bright green.
Season scallops with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a hot skillet over high heat and sear scallops 90 seconds per side until deeply golden but still translucent in the center. Remove and set aside.
Do not crowd the pan and do not move the scallops once they hit the butter -- a proper sear needs contact time undisturbed.
In the same pan, add remaining butter, ginger and garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add shrimp and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side until pink and just cooked through.
Stir orange and lemon zest and juice into the rice along with the green beans. Fold in the shrimp, top with seared scallops, and finish with chives before serving.
Pat the scallops completely dry with paper towels before searing -- any surface moisture will steam them instead of giving a crust.
Use fresh, not frozen-and-thawed, scallops if you can get them; the sear and texture are noticeably better.
Zest the citrus before juicing it, and add the zest at the very end so its aromatic oils don't cook off.
Lobster version: swap the shrimp for cooked lobster meat, folded in at the very end to just warm through.
Spicy version: add a pinch of chile flakes with the ginger and garlic for background heat.
Herb swap: use fresh dill instead of chives for a more classic East Coast seafood pairing.
This dish is best eaten fresh, as scallops toughen on reheating. If needed, store rice and seafood separately in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheat the rice gently, adding the seafood at the very end just to warm through.
Sea scallops from the Bay of Fundy and Georges Bank have supplied Atlantic Canadian kitchens for well over a century, and pairing them simply with rice, citrus and fresh herbs reflects the straightforward, seafood-forward cooking style common in Maritime coastal towns.
Yes, just thaw them fully in the fridge overnight and pat very dry before cooking, since excess moisture is the main obstacle to getting a good sear on scallops.
Bay scallops work too, though they're smaller and cook faster, so reduce the sear time to about 45 seconds per side to avoid overcooking.
This almost always means they were overcooked; scallops need just 60 to 90 seconds per side in a very hot pan and should still look slightly translucent in the very center when you pull them off.
Per serving (400g / 14.1 oz) · 4 servings total
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