Scallop and Charred Leek Curry with SN2

Japanese leek with a charred face falls apart before you have chewed it. Behind that, the fibres of the scallop come undone.

Coriander is the foundation of Symphony No.2. Its sweet, flower-like scent stands in the same place as the sweetness of the scallop. Into that comes bay leaf, drawing the warm scents of star anise and mace down towards the foundation. There is no chilli in it.

You stand at the pot while the onion goes amber, and while the leek takes its char. Frozen scallops work too.

Total time: about 55 min

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• SN2 / Starter Spices (the sachet of whole spices): 1 sachet
• SN2 / Powder Spices (the sachet of ground spices): 1 sachet
• Scallops (the adductor muscle) 300 g
• Japanese leek 3
• Onion 1
• Garlic 2 tsp (about 1 to 2 cloves)
• Ginger 2 tsp (about 1 to 2 knobs)
• Canned whole tomatoes, 400 g, 1 can
• Coconut milk 3 tbsp (milk also works)
• Water 200 ml
• Salt 1/2 tsp
• Sake 1 tbsp (for preparing the scallops)
• Lemon 1/4 (if you like)
• Oil 3 tbsp (use whatever oil you like; for this recipe we suggest rice oil or light sesame oil)

The salt starts at 1/2 tsp rather than the usual 1 tsp. The scallops give up a stock that carries salt of its own, so taste at the end and add from there.

Frozen scallops work. Move them to the fridge and thaw overnight, then press the moisture out with paper towel before using them. Rushing it under running water washes away water that holds the savour.

Preparation

1. Grate the garlic, then the ginger, in that order. Without a grater, mince them finely.
2. Slice the onion thinly, cutting across the fibres.
3. Cut the white part of the leek into 4 cm lengths. Cut the green part into 3 cm lengths and keep it separate.
4. Press the moisture firmly out of the scallops with paper towel and turn them through 1 tbsp sake. Moisture left on them is what makes the sauce watery.
5. If you are serving lemon, cut it into wedges.

Instructions

1. Film a frying pan with oil, set it over medium heat and lay in the white parts of the leek. Two minutes without rolling them, turn, two minutes more; once two faces have taken colour, lift them onto a tray. Charred all round they break up and keep no shape.
2. Put 3 tbsp of oil in a pot over low heat, and once the oil is warm add the whole starter spices.
3. When the mustard seeds (the black grains) begin to crackle, add the grated garlic and ginger and fry for about 30 seconds, mixing them into the spices.
4. Add the onion, mix it thoroughly with the spices, then turn the heat to high and cook for about 12 minutes until amber, adding small splashes of water as you go.

   How far you take the onion changes the finished dish more than anything else. A watery result, a sharp tomato acidity, a thin body — the single biggest cause of all three is moving on to the next step before the onion has turned amber. Cook it for a full 12 to 15 minutes, right through to amber.
   The points are:
   - keep the heat medium to high
   - spread the onion evenly across the pot and leave it, then stir, spread and leave again, then stir, repeatedly
   - whenever you feel catching on the base as you stir, add a splash of water (in practice about 2 tbsp at a time, roughly five times)
   Splashing in water spreads the savour that the heat draws out of the onion through the whole pot, and takes you to amber onion without burning. A little catching, followed by a splash of water, actually draws the savour out better.

5. Once the onion is amber, lower to medium heat, add all of the powder spices and turn them through, as though cooking the powder itself. In the standard method the meat goes in before this. Scallops tighten the longer they sit in the pot, so in this one they are left to the end.
6. Push the ingredients to one side, add the canned tomatoes, crush the whole tomatoes thoroughly, then mix everything together.
7. Add 200 ml water, 3 tbsp coconut milk and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes with the lid off. The coconut milk is there for body. It is not the lead in this pot, so as not to cover the sweetness of the scallops.
8. Add the charred white parts of the leek and the green parts, and simmer 8 minutes over low heat. Sweetness runs from the charred faces into the liquid.
9. Add the scallops and cook about 3 minutes over low heat. When the surface has clouded white and the fibres at the sides stand up, take it off the heat. Cooked beyond that, the flesh loses its water and tightens.
10. Off the heat, cover and leave for 2 minutes. The residual heat carries through to the centre of the scallops, and the scent of the whole spices comes back up over the liquid.
11. Taste at the end and adjust the salt. Around 1 to 1 1/2 tsp is the guide for what to add here. Adding it a pinch at a time until it lands where you like it is what makes the difference.

Bay leaf, cardamom and cassia bark are not normally eaten, so remove them if you come across them.

Squeeze over the lemon if you like. It is good with nothing squeezed over it at all.

The next day the scallops have lost their bite. On a day you make extra, lift the scallops out into a bowl before you eat, warm the sauce through, and put them back. The stock the scallops gave up is still in the sauce.

Inspice spice curry sets contain none of the chilli, cayenne or red pepper that usually carries heat, so adjust it to your own taste.

To add heat, we suggest HOT SPICE Umakara. It is a blend that adds savour alongside the heat, so rather than simply becoming hot, the dish keeps the aroma of the curry while its outline tightens. Do not put it in the pot; serve first, then shake it on a little at a time. That way you can share one pot with someone who does not care for heat.