Satisfyingly chunky udon noodles in a clean yet complex salmon head broth provide a perfect foundation for the scallops, quickly seared then poached in sauvignon blanc.
In my mind at least, sauvignon blanc and seafood are made for each other (as wine and food are made for each other!)
I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.
W. C. Fields
It certainly resonates with me and is very relevant to this salmon udon noodles dish. You won’t need a whole bottle of wine to poach the scallops, so do enjoy the rest before and during the meal. The scallops responded particularly well to this varietal. The fresh, clean flavour of sauvignon blanc really enhanced the sweetness of the scallops. Be sure to use a good sauvignon blanc though. As the conventional wisdom states – do not use a bottle of wine in cooking that you would not drink yourself.
The salmon head broth has a clean yet deep flavour. It’s as much a vegetable broth as a seafood one. Having that clean complexity, it marries well with the chunky udon style noodles. Very satisfying as a noodle dish, and even better topped with these succulent seared and poached scallops.
One dilemma I had during the development of this dish was what to do with the scallop poaching liquid. It seemed a shame to discard it, so I tried adding it to the salmon head broth in one iteration. It didn’t work, “confusing” the salmon head broth flavour. Freeze the poaching liquid for future clam chowder or fish pie, but don’t add it into the salmon head broth.
Udon noodles in salmon head broth with seared scallops
Ingredients
Salmon head broth
- 1 salmon head
- 1 onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 carrot
- 1 fennel bulb
- 2 celery stalks
- 20 g butter
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 thumb ginger
- 100 g shiitake mushrooms
- 1/4 cup chopped kombu
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 10 g butter
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 cups water
Scallops poached in sauvignon blanc
- 12 scallops
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup sauvignon blanc a dry riesling or other dry white will work too
- 1/2 cup salmon head broth
Other
- Udon noodles
- Dill or sea grapes to garnish
Instructions
Salmon head broth
- Wash the onion (keeping the skin on), carrots, and fennel. Coarsely chop.
- Wash the garlic cloves and crush under the side of a knife. No need to peel.
- Wash the red pepper, coarsely chop, removing the white pith.
- Peel the ginger and dice.
- Spread the diced vegetables out on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.
- Roast the vegetables for 1 hour at 180 degC.
- Wash the salmon head, split down the middle, and remove the gills.
- Wash and dice the celery, tomatoes, and shiitake mushrooms.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add celery and shiitake mushrooms.
- Cook in the butter until softened, stirring regularly.
- Add the roasted vegetables, tomatoes, and salmon head to the saucepan.
- Add the water and bring to a boil, then reduce to low simmer.
- Add the kombu, fish sauce, cider vinegar, and bay leaves.
- Continue on a low simmer for 2 hours. There should only be occasional bubbles surfacing.
- Strain the stock and discard the vegetables and fish head.
- Check the seasoning and add more fish sauce if needed.
Scallops poached in sauvignon blanc
- Bring a large skillet to a high heat and add the oil.
- When smoking, add the scallops, searing just 30 seconds on one side. This is to add colour, rather than cook them.
- Turn the scallops over so that the seared side is on the top, add the wine and fish stock. There liquid should be enough liquid to immerse 3/4 or so of the scallops. Add more wine or stock if necessary.
- Bring the poaching liquid back to a simmer then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer the scallops for 3 minutes. Remove them and discard the poaching liquid.
Preparation
- Plunge the udon noodles into boiling water for 30 seconds.
- Add portions of udon noodles to 4 shallow bowls.
- Place the scallops on top of the noodles, seared side up.
- Spoon over some salmon head broth, then garnish with dill or sea grapes.
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