Grilled Scallops가리비구이

Garibi-gui is Korean street food at its best -- scallops grilled right in their shells with garlic butter pooling around the edges. If you have been to a Korean night market or seafood restaurant along the coast, you have seen vendors grilling these over charcoal, the butter bubbling and the shells turning black from the heat.

The garlic butter here is not just butter and garlic. The addition of soy sauce is what makes it Korean rather than French. That tablespoon of soy sauce adds salt, umami, and a faint caramel quality that straight butter-and-garlic cannot achieve. It is a small tweak that makes a noticeable difference.

Shell-on scallops are ideal because the shell acts as a natural cooking vessel. The scallop sits in its own juices mixed with the garlic butter, essentially poaching and grilling at the same time. If you cannot find shell-on scallops, use the largest dry-packed sea scallops you can find and cook them in a ramekin or directly on a grill pan.

One word of caution: do not overcook scallops. They go from perfectly tender to rubbery in about sixty seconds. Five to seven minutes under a broiler is usually right for shell-on scallops. The edges should be just starting to turn golden and the center should still be slightly translucent. Carry-over heat finishes the cooking after you pull them from the heat.

If grilling outdoors, place the shells directly on the grate over high heat. The shells will blacken and crack, which is normal. Just make sure they are stable so the butter does not spill.

Serve immediately -- scallops wait for no one. The green onion garnish adds color and a mild bite. Have some bread ready to soak up the garlic-soy butter left in the shells. That sauce alone is worth the price of admission.