Asian Cajun Scallops

More seafood! This time it was sea scallops, which are great for a weeknight dinner since they cook so quickly. A lot of scallop recipes call for a butter sauce, but since we had a butter sauce the night before I thought it was best to opt for something different. I decided use some of my beloved Sriracha sauce, since I can't get enough spicy food. I'll warn you now, these are spicy, so reduce the Sriracha if you can't handle the heat.

One tip I have when cooking scallops is to have all of your side dishes ready when when you are going to throw the scallops in the pan since they cook up so quickly and you do not want overcook them, they become too chewy. Slightly under cooked scallops are better than over done scallops. Once the outside turns opaque it usually only takes a few more minutes to cook them, but feel free to cut one open if you are nervous about having them turn out too under cooked. Keep reading for the recipe.


Ingredients
1 lb sea scallops
1-2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 large sweet onion, sliced
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1-2 bags of baby spinach leaves (use the amount that works for your taste, but remember it really shrinks when you cook it)
2 teaspoons butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
1-2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
sesame seeds (optional)

Directions
Heat oil in large non stick saute pan over medium high heat. Add onions, cajun powder, and black pepper to pan saute for 6-8 minutes, adding spinach midway through. Then add butter and garlic and cook for about a minute. Try to move vegetables to side of pan to make room for scallops (or remove from pan and set aside). Add scallops, sprinkling with Sriracha and soy sauce. Sear on 1 side for about 1 minute and then stir around with vegetables (if they are still in the pan), keeping them moving about every 30 seconds, until cooked through.  They should be cooked through in about 4 minutes total. If you removed your vegetables add them back in to combine with scallops. Serve immediately and sprinkle with sesame seeds.