A one-pot, rice cooker meal. Layer fresh scallops and rice together in the rice cooker, and cook! So simple. Flavorful and very delicious.
This is a new-ish recipe I have quickly come to love.
This year we got into "rice cooker" cooking, which is a fun and simple method of cooking. Layer the ingredients into your rice cooker and hit the "cook" button! Once it's done, your lunch/dinner is ready. Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) and Rice has been a go-to "rice cooker recipe" for ages and I've enjoyed slowly adding more to our repertoire.
I've had several recipes bookmarked in Naoko Takei Moore's Donabe cookbook, but never got around to making them...simply because we don't have a donabe. But earlier this month I was thinking, why wait for a donabe? Let's just do what we can in the rice cooker.
This dish is a simplified version of the one in the cookbook. I just wanted something simple we could make for easy weeknight dinners. Scallops and rice cooked together makes for a flavorful dish, and also one that feels delicate and elegant.
The coolest part? The scallops always end up perfectly cooked. (The first time I made this, I was worried the scallops would overcook because how is it possible that both the rice and scallops would finish cooking at exactly the same time?! But somehow it does.)
Once the rice is cooked, all you do is fluff the rice and slip in two pats of butter and a handful of chives (or green onions). The scallops gently break into smaller pieces as you fluff the rice, ensuring that you get a bit of scallop in every bite.
Eat this dish as your "main" dish, or serve smaller portions with other dishes (we like green bean stir fry and dumplings).
Ingredients
All you need are two key ingredients:
- Rice - We usually use a Japanese medium grain rice or brown rice. Sometimes we mix the two.
- Raw Scallops - Fresh is ideal, but frozen and defrosted also works.
Two cooking/seasoning ingredients:
- Water - For an even more flavorful dish, replace the water with dashi.
- Soy Sauce
- Sake - Chicken broth or a dry white wine will work as a substitution.
Two "finishing ingredients":
- Butter
- Chives (or Green Onions)
Method
Ok, here's how we do it. First prepare the scallops. Salt the tops and bottoms of each scallop. Let them rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Next, prepare the rice. Rinse the rice till the water runs almost clear. In the rice cooker pot, combine the rice, water, soy sauce, and sake. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Then take the scallops out and put them on top of the rice. Do not stir! The scallops will be slightly covered by the water.
Put it in the rice cooker and press the "cook" button.
While you're waiting for it to finish cooking, measure out the butter and chop the chives (or green onions) and set aside.
Let the rice and scallops "rest" in the rice cooker for 5 minutes after it's finished cooking. Then open and gently fluff the rice.
Slide in the butter. Keep fluffing and mixing. The butter will impart a subtle richness and give the rice a glossy finish.
The scallops naturally break apart. You can leave some scallops in larger chunks and break others into smaller pieces. There's no right or wrong, it's just personal preference.
Fold in the chopped chives. Then it's ready to eat ^_^
Rice Cooker Recipes
More rice cooker recipes are coming soon! I hope to devote a big section of this blog to rice cooker recipes. In the meantime, enjoy this Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) and Rice...it's so easy that creating a recipe for it almost feels silly ^_^
Questions
2-3 days in the fridge, in a sealed container.
1-2 minutes in the microwave. 3-4 minutes in the steamer.
No problem. I love the color and flavor they add to this dish, but it will still be delicious without. Don't let that stop you from making the recipe.
You can also replace the water with dashi (can use dashi powder mixed with water) or chicken broth for an extra flavorful dish.
Scallops And Rice Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Rice Cooker Recipe: Scallops And Rice
Cook both scallops and rice in the rice cooker at the same time! Layer rice, broth, and scallops in the pot and press the "cook" button on the rice cooker. An elegant meal that is so simple to make.
Ingredients
- 2 *cups rice (I use Japanese medium grain rice or brown rice)
- ½ pound fresh scallops
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onions or chives
Instructions
- Prepare the scallops. Lightly salt the scallops on both sides. Place on a plate and set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes (no need to cover the plate).
- Prepare the rice. Wash the rice several times (until the water runs almost clear). In the rice pot, combine the rice with the water, soy sauce, and sake. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Remove the scallops from the fridge. Pat dry and place the scallops on top of the rice (they will covered by the water). Do not stir.
- Cook the scallop rice with the same standard setting you use to normally cook rice in the rice cooker. Once cooked, let sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove the rice pot from the rice cooker. Slide in the butter and use a rice paddle to gently fluff the rice, mix in the butter and break up the scallops.
- Fold in the chopped chives and serve immediately. This scallop and rice dish makes a great meal serve alone, or works as a "fancy rice" side dish as part of a larger meal.
Notes
*We are referring to "rice cup" and not "regular cup." A regular cup is 240ml. A rice cup is 180ml. If you don't have a rice cup: ¾ of a regular cup = 1 rice cup.
Adapted from Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking by Naoko Takei Moore and Kyle Connaughton
Tim H
Very easy and ono! Made per recipe and worked great. I thought the scallops might overcook as I used brown rice. They were very tender.
Kathy
Thank you, Tim! Love the idea of using brown rice. I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe ^_^
Kathy
Anne
I added fresh shiitake mushrooms to the rice cooker and served mine with a soft boiled egg and smashed cucumber salad. This was delicious, thank you for sharing this recipe!
Kia
This was great! I wonder if shrimp could be added to this?
Alexis
I loved this recipe! Using only 1/2 a lb of scallops was super affordable. The only difference is that I used 2 rice cups not 2 cups because otherwise it was too much rice for my cheap rice cooker. Thanks for the recipe!
Kathy
Hi Alexis! 2 rice cups is perfect! Happy you enjoyed ^_^
- Kathy
Jeanne
I've been busy and it's taken me awhile to catch up. I love these easy rice cooker dishes. Your rice cooker is so cute! Do you ever use an instapot pressure cooker or air fryer?
Kathy
Hi Jeanne! Thank you!! Hope you've been doing well. I love doing these rice cooker recipes 🙂 We don't have an instapot or air fryer, but I sometimes use the instapot at my parent's house (we use it to make oxtail soup and boiled peanuts!)
- Kathy
Alan
Great recipe!! I love scallops and I love rice. My wife doesn't care for either -- so in my small rice cooker, I can make this dish for myself. Thanks for the idea! I think the dashi idea with a little shoyu will be very tasty. I wonder if oyster sauce would be nice too?
Kathy
Thanks, Alan! Hope you enjoy! Ooo I bet a little oyster sauce would be neat...oyster sauce makes everything extra tasty ^_^