Seared Scallops in Coconut Curry with Basmati Rice and Fried Red Bananas

Shallow-fried Red Bananas (made like tostones)

4 tablespoons of Canola (or any other neutral oil)
3 small unripe red bananas
smoked Maldon sea salt

Recipe:

Peel the skin off the bananas. Chop each banana into 3 diagonal, but even-sized chunks. Pre-heat canola oil in a frying pan on medium high heat for about 2 minutes, do not over-heat. Fry chunks in canola oil for 5 – 7 minutes, until golden brown. Do not flip bananas for the first 2 minutes to avoid them sticking to the pan. After 2 to 3 minutes, flip pieces whichever way necessary so that all sides are golden brown. In the meantime, place a piece of paper towel onto a plate or a cutting board. (I used a cutting board.) When bananas are golden brown, take them out with a tong and place onto the paper towel to drain excess oil. Turn off heat.

Now, place another cutting board onto your countertop and remove one piece of fried banana from the pile with tongs and place it in the center of the cutting board. Press the bottom of the first cutting board onto the fried banana so that it flattens. Don’t press too hard, you don’t want to mash them. Just use enough pressure to flatten. It will probably stay stuck to the cutting board, that’s normal. Just use your tong to gently ease it off in one piece and set aside. Repeat this process with the remaining fried banana pieces until you have only flattened bananas left.

Now, pre-heat the canola oil again for about a minute or two on medium high heat. Refry the flattened banana pieces for 1 minute on each side. When bananas are fried to desired crispiness, remove piece by piece with tongs and allow to rest on a fresh paper towel and sprinkle with sea salt.

Coconut Curry

reuse leftover canola oil
1/4 piece of one large onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 small jalapeno, chopped into thin rings
1 can of light coconut oil
2 teaspoons of Madras curry powder
1/4 cup of shredded carrots

Recipe:

Pour 1 can of light coconut milk into a mixing bowl and sprinkle 2 teaspoons of Madras curry powder. Whisk thoroughly. Using the same canola oil used for the fried red bananas, lightly fry thinly sliced onions, smashed garlic cloves, and jalapeno rings on medium high heat. Stir frequently until they are crisped at the edges, 4 – 5 minutes. Add carrots and lightly fry for 1 – 2 minutes. When all ingredients are lightly crisped, add the seasoned coconut milk and heat until it starts to bubble. Then, turn down heat to medium low and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will reduce and thicken into a deliciously rich sauce.

Seared Scallops

6 scallops
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
sea salt
ground black pepper

Recipe:

Now, while the coconut curry sauce is simmering, pat dry 6 pieces of scallops. (I took the extra step of wrapping the scallops in paper towel and kept it in a bowl in the fridge beforehand to drain all excess moisture. Then I took the paper towels off and sprinkled some salt to further drain out excess moisture. Then I pat dried the scallops, and re-seasoned with a little salt and pepper.) Make sure scallops are at room temperature before searing. In a small cast iron skillet, melt one tablespoon of unsalted butter. (Clarified butter would be better, as it has a higher smoking point, but that’s not what I used in this recipe.) After the butter has fully melted and foam reaches the surface, add the scallops. Do not let the scallops touch each other. Sear each side for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove with tongs and place onto a plate lined with a paper towel.

Plating:

Pour coconut curry into a shallow bowl. Place seared scallops in the center, flip them over to cover in sauce. Pair with basmati rice using the instructions on the packaging of the rice. Place rice in a bowl and top it with another bowl, flip it over so that you have a nice mound of rice. Enjoy with fried red bananas. Brooklyn, EAT your heart out!