Pan-fried to perfection, these quick Butter Soy Sauce Scallops are so sweet and juicy. It’s one of the dishes we serve in Osechi Ryori, or traditional Japanese New Year foods. Other times of the year, it‘s a crowd-pleasing appetizer that you can make with just 4 ingredients.
Looking for a quick party appetizer that pair perfectly with beer or sake? You must try these Butter Soy Sauce Scallops (ホタテのバター醤油焼き)! These candies from the ocean are juicy, sweet, and so darn good. They make a crowd-pleaser dish to serve on Japanese New Year or any Japanese-themed parties.
Unlike regular scallops, these babies are much easier to prepare as they are already cooked. That means you can get them on the table real fast. All you need is to give nice sear marks on the scallops and flavor them with the golden combination of soy sauce and butter!
The Popular Butter Soy Sauce Flavor
“Butter shoyu” (バター醤油) or butter soy sauce is a common flavor combination in Japanese cooking. It’s easy to see why the Japanese people are utterly obsessed with this east-meets-west pairing.
One rich, creamy and sweet, and one salty and full of umami. Butter and soy sauce are the two most basic items in our pantry, but together they make such a magical duo in flavoring our food!
When in doubt, we can always count on the combo. As you can see in my recipes: Butter Shoyu Chicken, Japanese Corn Rice, and Pasta with Shrimp and Broccolini. And there’s really no limit there. You can even level it up by tossing in chopped garlic, fresh herb, shichimi togarashi, etc.
For this Japanese-style pan-seared scallop, a good basting of butter and soy sauce are all that you need.
The Use of Boiled Scallops
In Japan, we can find broiled scallops and raw scallops at the markets. The boiled scallops typically come with himo (紐) or a small band of muscle still attached. They are edible and tasty, but some people don’t like the stringy and chewy texture. I highly recommend eating everything, without any waste!
For this recipe, I used frozen baby boiled scallops which are already cooked.
Where to Find Boiled Baby Scallops
You can purchase boiled baby scallops all year round at the refrigerated section of the Japanese grocery stores.
Let us know if you find these at your local store in the comment box below, so others can enjoy them as well!
For Those Who Can’t Find Boiled Baby Scallops
You can still use regular scallops to make this dish. Follow this step to make Seared Scallops, and quickly coat with butter and soy sauce.
How to Make Butter Soy Sauce Scallops
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Boiled baby scallops
- Unsalted butter (If salted butter, use less butter and less soy sauce)
- Soy sauce
Overview: Quick Steps
- Sear the scallops in butter.
- Add more butter and drizzle soy sauce.
- Coat scallops well with the sauce. Enjoy!
An appetizer like this sure looks fancy but it’s worth making it at home because it’s really that easy. They have a beautiful caramelized crust on the outside and are juicy, tender and sweet inside. I’m not a big drinker, but oh boy, these pan-seared scallops are absolutely delicious and so flavorful that I can’t stop eating and sipping my sake. The moment I served it at the table, they disappeared so quickly.
Other Japanese Party Appetizers You’ll Enjoy
- Gyoza (Japanese Pan-Fried Dumplings)
- Agedashi Tofu
- Teba Shio (Salted Chicken Wings)
- Spicy Edamame
- Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken aka JFC)
- Japanese Sake-Steamed Clams
- Fried Chicken Wings
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Butter Soy Sauce Scallops
Ingredients
- 8 oz boiled baby scallop (found in the refrigerated section of the Japanese grocery store)
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter (divided; for searing and for the sauce)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Before You Start: If you will include this dish in your Osechi meal, you can cook it up to a day before you plan to serve. For more helpful tips on planning your Japanese New Year feast, please read my A 5-Day Osechi Cooking Timeline blog post.
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Season 8 oz boiled baby scallop with ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat the frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp unsalted butter and let it melt. Then, add the scallops to the pan.
- Sear one side of the scallops, then flip to sear the other side. The key is to sear quickly, as these boiled scallops are already pre-cooked.
- Add the remaining 1 Tbsp unsalted butter and swirl the pan to let it melt.
- Finally, add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and coat the scallops with the pan sauce.
To Serve
- When the scallops are well coated with the sauce, transfer them to a plate and serve warm as an appetizer. If you‘re serving it as part of your Osechi (traditional Japanese New Year foods) menu, let them cool before packing in the jubako box.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and keep them for 2 days in the refrigerator or for up to a month in the freezer.
Hi Nami
is there other recipes I can try with these scallops? Add it to ramen? I just bought a 1kg bag 😂
Hello, Alice! Thank you for attempting Nami’s recipe!
Yes, you may use it as a topping to the ramen. You may also top macaroni gratin with scallops, create Wafu spaghetti using scallops instead of shrimp, or prepare seafood curry.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/macaroni-gratin/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/easy-wafu-pasta-shrimp-asparagus/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-japanese-seafood-curry/
We hope you like it for a variety of dishes!
I love macaroni gratin! Do I just defrost, top it and bake?
Hi Alice, You can defrost it and lightly sear it before topping it!
We hope you like it!
Hi, if I cannot find the boiled scallops, how would you recommend preparing fresh or frozen (raw) scallops to go in this dish? Thank you!
Hi Alicia! Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe!
If you are using the frozen one, we recommend “half-thawed” to prevent losing the flavor of this recipe. And here are a few ways to defrost.
1. Use ice and salt. In a bowl, combine ice cubes and 23% salt. Then, place the frozen scallops between the ice and the cover. For this recipe, leave it at room temperature for 12 hours, or until it is halfway soft.
2. For this recipe, place the frozen scallops in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
3. Use water and salt. Place the frozen scallops in a bowl of water. Mix in 3% salt and set aside for 1 hour and 30 minutes at room temperature. (This works well, but the texture is not as good as when you use ice.)
If you are using fresh scallops, please check out this recipe for cooking instructions: https://www.justonecookbook.com/seared-scallops/
We hope this is helpful!
I’ve looked at those frozen scallops in the Japanese market and wondered if they were any good. Now I’m looking forward to trying them!
Hi Jan! Thank you for reading Nami’s post and for your feedback!
We hope you will give this recipe a try soon. Let us know how it goes!
Hi Nami and team, the boiled scallops available in Singapore are usually sold frozen. Should I thaw it overnight in the fridge before using, or would you recommend blanching it briefly in boiling water to defrost, before searing?
Hi Ying! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
We recommend “half-thawed” to prevent losing the flavor for this recipe. And here are a few ways to defrost.
1. Use ice and salt. Mix ice cubes and 2~3% of salt in the bowl. Then place the frozen scallops between the ice, and cover. Leave it at room temperature for 1~2hours until it gets halfway soft for this recipe.
2. Leave the frozen scallops in the refrigerator for about 3 hours for this recipe.
3. Use water and salt. Place the frozen scallops in the bowl of water. Mix 3% of salt and leave it for 15~30 minutes at room temperature. (This works well, but the texture is not good as when you use ice cube)
We hope this is helpful!
Thank you for the detailed reply. I have never tried thawing with ice cubes and salt (haha seems counter-intuitive for thawing), but I agree it will probably give it a better texture. I will definitely give this a try!
You are welcome!😊
We use butter and soy sauce on everything—-it’s great on green beans!
Hi Mary! We are glad to hear you love butter soy sauce flavor! 😊
You might like this recipe as well. https://www.justonecookbook.com/butter-shoyu-chicken/
Enjoy!
Konnichiwa Namiko,
I enjoy reading your emails and articles on your website but this recipe for butter, soy scallops surprised me, I live on the Isle of Man which has very rich sea bed scallop population from where they are sold worldwide; additionally, I am a retired lecturer in catering and hospitality management, I can honestly say I have never seen a scallop sold with it’s frill before unless they are sold live. Ihave known the frill to be removed and discarded as this is the filter and usially is very sandy.
I don’t like the thought of wasting food either so next scallop season when I buy live scallops I will give it a try, I would usually cook them in burre noisettewith black pepper and garlic but will use your recipe as we love soy sauce.
Thank you for this and all your recipes, I enjoy experimenting with the recipes and have found the ones tried to be very delicious.
Arigatou,
Michelle
Hi Michelle! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and sharing your experience with us!
This type of baby scallop is very common in Japan, and we can purchase it all year round at the refrigerated section of the Japanese grocery stores. Usually, the filler has been cleaned and does not have any sand. If you find it in your area, please let us know!
Otherwise, you can still use regular scallops to make this dish. (Please read more detail on how to do it in this post.) 🙂
We hope you enjoy this recipe!