Mango & Coconut Creamy Rice with Jerk Scallops

Tweaking classics to give them an unconventional twist has sort of been my jam lately! Introducing: Mango & Coconut Creamy Rice with Jerk Scallops. The original inspiration was the super obvious and delectable risotto with loads of cream and parmesan with perfectly seared scallops overtop. I am not denying that this dish is absolutely perfect as it is, but why not bring a little freshness to it?

Okok so we have flavor profiles down. Let's talk cooking scallops. I will not lie to you, there is a bit of a finesse to it. Here are my biggest tips:

• use a very hot pan
• use GRAPE SEED OIL
• remove the adductor muscle (its Chewey)

So, what is the adductor muscle? Its that tiny little hard half moon looking protrusion off the scallop. You can simply pull it off with your fingers, pat it dry and you're good to go. I am additionally recommending using grapeseed oil. Peanut oil would also work. The point of it would be a super high smoke point. Another oil that would be acceptable to use at such a high temperature would be avocado oil. PLEASE for the love of all things delicious, DO NOT USE EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL TO COOK WITH. Extra virgin olive oil is for salad dressings, drizzles, or anything that cooks at a low temperature. I wouldn't even sweat an onion in extra virgin olive oil. This is because of the super delicious tannins that they do not strain out before processing. Is it delicious, YES. Does it taste burnt and carcinogenic extremely quickly and get super smoky? ALSO YES. Its also expensive so stop flushing money down the toilet and buy yourself a high smoke point oil. Thank you for coming to my ted talk 🙂

If you like this Mango & Coconut Creamy Rice with Jerk Scallops recipe, try some of my other favorites:

https://mindfulcooks.com/whole-wheat-strawberry-clafoutis/

https://mindfulcooks.com/guajillo-instant-pot-chili/

https://mindfulcooks.com/vegetarian-butter-tofu/

[lt_recipe name="Mango & Coconut Creamy Rice with Jerk Scallops" total_time="45M" difficulty="Medium" print="yes" ingredients="1 tablespoon vegan butter or oil;½ red onion;1 small mango;½ cup Arborio rice;½ teaspoon dried thyme;¼ cup white wine;1 can coconut milk;1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or other high smoke point oil;½ lb sea scallops;1 tablespoon jerk seasoning;" ]First, heat the butter in a medium sized sauce pot over medium low heat. Add the red onion with a small pinch of salt and cook until tender crisp. ;Meanwhile, cut the mango. Reserve 2 tablespoon of chopped mango for garnish. Blend the rest of the mango until smooth. Set aside.;Add the rice to the onion. Stir and cook for 30 seconds, then add the thyme and white wine. Cook while stirring for 1 minute, or until the wine is almost completely evaporated. ;Add on the coconut milk and blended mango. Cover and cook for 25 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked.;Meanwhile. Sear your scallops. Firstly, remove the tough adductor muscle from the side of the scallop and blot dry. Add the oil into a saute pan until its so hot it moves in the pan like water would. Add the scallops to the pan in 2 batches, sprinkling with the seasoning after the first side is browned. Remove from pan when opaque in the center.;Serve the scallops over the mango rice, garnished with chopped mango and additional thyme, if desired.;;Chefs tip: Because it is so important to get a crisp layer on those scallops, make sure you get a proper golden brown sear before you sprinkle the seasoning. You only need to season one side since the fish is delicate and jerk seasoning has a strong flavor profile.[/lt_recipe]