My nephew had been bugging me to have Baked Scallops in a restaurant. Finally, one day, I took him to Gerry's Grill in front of ABS-CBN, but we were disappointed to find out that it was a seasonal item, and it was, unfortunately, not the season for scallops.
Disappointed, but undaunted, I checked out a couple of groceries and found scallops in the Cold Storage freezer in Robinson's Magnolia. There were several options – different breeds of scallops on both sides of the price range.
I opted for the cheapest I could find – i.e., the most number of scallops for the least price.
I have since done it twice with equally good results – the scallops were wiped out.
I have yet to do it with fresh scallops though, but prices in the wet market tend to be unpredictable and uncontrollable. Moreover, frequently, the "good" seafood is reserved for the export market, and the local markets are left with tiny baby scallops, some as small as less than half an inch wide (the meat, I mean). I cannot bear to think that I have contributed to the overfishing of scallops, thus, I don't subscribe to buying any baby seafood.
The frozen scallops, on the other hand, are consistent in size and quality, and, hopefully fished according to sustainable standards. They may not be "psychologically" as great as fresh ones, but they are tasty nonetheless, and for baking, with butter, garlic, and cheese, frozen scallops will do the job.
So here it is. You start with the scallops. The package of scallops I got for P138.60 weighed 495 grams (P280/kilo) and had 17 pieces.
Wash the scallops. Drain thoroughly.
Take half a stick of butter. I used Magnolia Gold for this. The salted version is okay since I didn't use any additional salt anyway.
Microwave for 30 seconds. It will be hot but not fully melted.
Take about 5 cloves of garlic. Chop finely to make 1[packed] tablespoon.
Add the garlic to the melted butter, and mix lightly.
Next put about ¼ cup breadcrumbs in a bowl. I used panko breadcrumbs because they were the only ones that came in a small pack. Tip: If you will use fine breadcrumbs, use 2-3 tablespoons only, or just enough to coat the cheese. If you don't have breadcrumbs, use crushed Skyflakes!
Grate ½ block Eden Melt Sarap cheese. Mix the grated cheese with the breadcrumbs until coated.
Lay the scallops in one layer on a tray. Spoon the garlic-butter mixture over the scallops, making sure to distribute evenly and cover the scallop adequately. The scallop should just be covered with just the right ratio of butter to cheese. Don't put too much of the butter mixture or it will just drip in the oven.
Next, put the cheese-breadcrumb mixture over the scallops. Again, just put enough to cover the scallop in a thin layer.
Bake in an oven (toaster) for 8-10 minutes, or until it just starts to brown.
Enjoy!
P.S. I made another version of this a couple of weeks ago, but without breadcrumbs. Instead, I mixed 1 teaspoon leftover fried chicken breading mix into the butter. The chicken breading mix is already seasoned, so don't add salt and pepper.
If you don't have breading mix, a teaspoon of flour with salt and pepper would do. This is a lighter and more garlicky version, which I personally prefer.
