| Roasted scallops & congee with chilli oil

SERVES: 4 AS A STARTER OR A LIGHT MAIN TAKES: 1 HR 45 MINS

INGREDIENTS

12 scallops, shelled and roe removed

1 tbsp rapeseed oil ginger matchsticks, thinly sliced spring onions, crisp-fried shallots or onions, coriander sprigs and chilli oil, to garnish

FOR THE CONGEE

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

4 fat garlic cloves, crushed to a paste large thumb of ginger, finely grated 350g basmati rice

750ml chicken stock a few drops of sesame oil white pepper, to season

METHOD

To make the congee, heat the oil in a saucepan set over a medium-high heat, then add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the rice, chicken stock and 2.5 litres of water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat, half-cover with a lid and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it has a porridge consistency (this will take between 1 hr and 1hr 30 mins so it’s the kind of thing you want to start in the afternoon, so it’s ready to eat in the evening).

Add the sesame oil and season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Heat a cast-iron frying pan until it’s almost smoking. Toss the scallops in the sesame oil, season with salt and sear for 1 min, before turning and cooking on the other side for 30 seconds (the trick is to pan-fry the scallops long enough on the first side to give them a burnished, golden top).

Ladle the congee into shallow bowls and top each serving with three scallops. Garnish with the ginger, spring onions, shallots, coriander sprigs and a drizzle of chilli oil.

Taken from Jikoni: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes from an Immigrant Kitchen by Ravinder Bhogal (£26, Bloomsbury)