Seared Scallops With Cucumber

Ingredients

1 lb scallops
2 salt
2 pepper
2 tb olive oil
1 lemon grass stalk
1/2 c rice vinegar
1/4 c sugar
1/2 ts pepper flakes
2 cucumber
1 banana pepper
1 serrano
2 cilantro
2 ts basil
2 ts mint
3/8 c lime juice

Instructions

Servings: 4 Slice lemon grass stalk thinly crosswise. Peel and halve cucumbers lengthwise, then seed and slice thin crosswise. Relish: Bring lemon grass, vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup water to boil in a saucepan; simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup. Strain mixture into a bowl and cool slightly; discard solids. Stir in all other sauce ingredients. Sprinkle scallops with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper. Heat one tablespoon oil in a wok or non-stick skillet. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, and adding remaining oil as needed, saute scallops, turning once, until seared. Spoon a portion of relish onto each plate. Arrange a portion of scallops over the relish and serve immediately. ~-COOK's Magazine