When Akasaka Japanese Restaurant, 4737 N. Academy Blvd., closed a few months ago, my monthly lunch bunch moaned our disappointment in unison. Akasaka was one of our regular go-to places for a sizzling skillet of scallop Butteryaki.
Reach Farney at 636-0271. Hear her "KVOR Table Talk" radio show noon to 1 p.m. Saturdays on 740 AM.Sweet Potato SaladThe sauce recipe, as my friends and I had always guessed, was pretty simple: 1 cup mayo, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons white Karo syrup, a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon soy sauce.Peel the Sweet Potatoes, quarter and then cut into 1/4" slices. Toss in olive oil to coat and season to taste with kosher salt, ground pepper, and granulated garlic. Peel and slice the Bermuda onions into wedges. Toss in with sweet potatoes. At this point, you can spread the whole mixture on a baking sheet and roast on high (375 or 400) degree temperature in a convection oven until the potatoes are beginning to burn along the edges. Transfer hot potatoes to a large bowl and toss with lemon juice, sourwood honey, and chopped parsley. Allow to cool, and serve!
If you are using a conventional, oven you may not get-the crispness that comes with a convection oven, but the result will certainly be edible. And if you are using a stovetop method in a cast iron skillet, simply toss potatoes and onions in well-oiled skillet until the potatoes are done and starting to crisp up, as you would with home fries. The time in this method will depend on the heat of the burner, the thickness of the potatoes, and other highly variable factors. This salad is terrific as an accompaniment to fried chicken; ribs, and any picnic fare. It will last a day or so, but not much longer than that!My lunch partners, all being reasonably good cooks, had theorized about what might be in the secret sauce. I figured there was mayonnaise in it, but I couldn't put my finger on what the other ingredients might be.Once, on a shopping trip to Asian stores in Denver, I had spotted a stack of the cast iron serving dishes, like the ones they used at Akasaka. I snapped one up for future testing of the recipe. But all my home attempts were doomed to failure.Even better, owner Song Brinck was more than happy to give me the recipe on my first request - and she invited me to join her in the kitchen to watch her prepare the dish so I could see all the details and nuances of the recipes. I reached for my Flip Video camera to record the process. Visit gazette.com to see the video.There is still a missing ingredient that separates this dish from the most memorable Akasaka version. But, what the heck, it's just another reason to dig out the cute cast iron plate and start adding Asian ingredients to the basic sauce until I hit on the right combination.The sauce ingredients should be blended in a food processor. Heat a skillet over high heat and add 4 tablespoons of butter. Dredge six sea scallops in flour and saute in the butter. Add 3-4 tablespoons of the sauce to the pan and heat until the sauce starts to caramelize. Serve immediately.Laurey's Catering has been operating in Asheville since 1987. Owned by Laurey Masterton, who grew up at Blueberry Hill Farm in Vermont, Laurey's is proud to serve locally-grown produce as much as possible and to have well-established relationship with many local farmers and producers. Come for lunch or have us cater your meeting or special event: 828-252-1500, info@laureysyum.comI've prepared the recipe a couple of times and find it gets the job done of having a tasty scallop appetizer.And that was our biggest regret when the eatery shuttered its windows - we would never again get to eat this amazing dish.-Then, in December, when I dropped by Kura Japanese Restaurant, 3478 Research Parkway, for Wednesday Ladies Night Out, I was shocked to see Sea Scallop Butter Yaki (pan-seared scallops with butter sauce) on the menu. Of course, I ordered the appetizer and was pleasantly surprised to find it tasted almost as good as my gold standard at Akasaka.
Reach Farney at 636-0271. Hear her "KVOR Table Talk" radio show noon to 1 p.m. Saturdays on 740 AM.
Author: TERESA FARNEY
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