broiled fresh scallops

I regularly visit an Asian seafood joint across town. I have been shopping there for over 10 years and their business has steadily grew. Amongst the seasonal items that I look for and hope to encounter is fresh scallops in shell. It is significantly more expensive than the high grade large one that has been cleaned. However what make the fresh one so much better is the freshness, and that you eat not just the muscle, but also the other edible parts.

I would normally eat 2 medium size one for a meal. The preparation is very simple, I just broil them under an intense infra boiler. Mine is a semi-commercial gas infra broiler and puts out intense heat. A bit of olive oil, chopped cilantro, fresh ground pepper, and a dash of Tobasco and a bit of coarse sea salt. The only portion that is not edible is the green sack. It contains the digested waste. It is easily removed when it is cooked by scrapping it off while the scallop is still on the half shell. The orange part and the thin skins are as delicious as the familiar muscle but with different texture and mouth feel.

While visiting San Francisco 2 weeks ago I found shucked scallops from Japan on sale in a supermarket in the Japantown. They are whole just like here except the shells have been removed. I bought a pound and make ramen with them on the trip.

Often I would save the juice and may be one scallop and make a small serving of linguini.

The dish pictured here has a few clams added, and topped with jamon.

update 6/21/12 - this one has whole scallops