Scallop Dish Spiced Up with Sake Lees, Miso Marinade; Easy to Make Dish Pairs Well with Sake at Home

By Tomoyo Yamada / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

15:30 JST, December 15, 2024

The season of sake lees, a byproduct of sake production, has come. They are becoming popular as a healthy fermented food.

Yumiko Kozumi, owner of a restaurant featuring spicy food and a culinary researcher, shared her recipe for grilled scallops marinated with sake lees and miso. The dish is packed with the savory flavor of scallops brought out by the marinade ingredients and has a slight spicy aftertaste, making it a perfect companion to sake.

“Sake lees also help get rid of the fishy smell of the seafood,” Kozumi said.

The white miso gives the scallops, a favorite of Kozumi, a refined flavor.

The key point of the recipe is mixing spices with the sake lees and white miso before marinating the scallops.

The dish is enhanced with three spices: red chili peppers, smashed cloves and black pepper. The red chilis and black pepper bring out the dish’s flavor, while the aromatic cloves add taste and a kick to complement the sweet white miso.

Be careful not to add too many cloves. Though they have a sweet and thick scent, biting down on one makes your mouth tingle.

Wrapping the scallops tightly in plastic wrap helps them absorb flavor from the marinade. As the dish burns easily, make sure to carefully control the heat. By sprinkling the grilled scallops with the spices, you can enjoy the changes in texture and flavor.

“You can also steam the scallops and some chopped vegetables in parchment paper, if you like,” Kozumi said.

Taking a bite of one of the piping hot scallops will instantly spread its savory flavor throughout your mouth. The seafood pairs wonderfully with the creamy, tingling spiciness of the marinade.

“Once marinated, all you have to do is grill the scallops, so you can serve this dish easily when drinking at home,” Kozumi recommended.

Grilled scallops with sake lees, miso

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• 160 grams of scallops (for sashimi)
• 2 tbsp sake lees
• 4 tbsp white miso
• 2 red chili peppers
• 10 black pepper kernels
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 4-5 green shiso leaves
• 1 sudachi citrus
• A pinch of rock salt



Directions:

1. Lightly cut a grid pattern on the top of the scallops.



2. Mix the sake lees with white miso in a bowl.

3. Toast the red chili peppers, black pepper and cloves in a pan without oil. When the red chili peppers are nicely toasted and the cloves swell up, remove the spices from the pan and let them cool down.

4. Tear the red chili peppers in half. Lightly grind the cloves and black peppers with a pestle. Add the spices and grated ginger into the sake lees and miso mixture.



5. Spread half the amount of the marinade on a sheet of plastic wrap and lay the scallops on it. Spread the other half of the marinade on the scallops. Wrap them tightly in the plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator overnight.

6. Lightly remove the marinade from the surface of the scallops. Pour a small amount of oil in a pan and grill both sides of the scallops over low heat.

7. Lay the green shiso leaves on a plate and place the scallops on them. Sprinkle with sudachi zest and rock salt. Garnish the plate with sliced sudachi.

***

Marinade good for pan-fried dishes



If you have leftover marinade, you can make use of it in pan-fried dishes as well.

For example, try it with stir-fried shiitake mushrooms and negi green onion. Cut the shiitake mushrooms and a green onion into large pieces, then fry them in a pan. Once browned, add the sake lees and miso mixture and stir to combine. You can dilute it with sake or mirin. “Try enjoying it with seasonal vegetables such as eggplant and bell peppers,” Kozumi said.