Scallops with Thai Peanut Noodles

We bought a bag of frozen scallops the last time we went to BJs. We try to get some kind of seafood every time we’re there. I’ve never made scallops before, although I love eating them at restaurants.

I saw a couple of recipes for scallops that I wanted to try, but I didn’t have all the ingredients. This recipe called out to me because I’m a big fan of peanut butter, AND I had all the ingredients on hand. I also didn’t want to make a huge fuss with dinner, so I decided to make this.

Scallops with Thai Peanut Noodles
Adapted from: Eat Better America

Ingredients:
1 package (7 oz) spaghetti, broken in half (I used half a package of Thai style rice noodles)
5 cups fresh broccoli pieces or 1 bag (12 oz) frozen broccoli cuts, thawed
3/4 lb fresh or frozen (thawed) bay scallops or quartered sea scallops
1/2 cup reduced-fat peanut butter spread (I used Lee Kum Kee Peanut Sauce)
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper sauce (I used chili garlic sauce)
2 tablespoons unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, finely chopped (I omitted since I didn’t have any on hand)

Directions:
1. Cook spaghetti as directed on package—except add broccoli and scallops during last 4 minutes of cooking. Scallops are done when they turn white and opaque.

2. Meanwhile, in small bowl, beat peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper sauce with wire whisk until smooth.

3. Drain spaghetti mixture; return to saucepan. Add peanut butter mixture; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with peanuts. Serve immediately.

Final verdict: I will try this again with crunchy peanut butter instead of the peanut sauce. The peanut sauce had vinegar in it already, so it made the entire dish more tart than usual. There wasn’t enough peanut butter flavor for my taste.