One of my favorite Thai dishes is eggplant salad, made with grilled long eggplant and a punchy dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, dried shrimp, chili, palm sugar, cilantro, and shallots. The Thai name of the dressing is nam yum. Together with my friend Melvin, I came up with the idea of transforming this into a scallop ceviche by replacing the eggplant with raw scallops. The original salad is typically served with a medium-boiled egg to add a creamy element, but since scallops already have a naturally creamy texture, we decided to leave the egg out. The result was delicious and has definitely earned a place in my repertoire. For an elegant presentation, I arranged the scallop slices in the shape of a flower: the solid components of the dressing form the ‘flower head’ at the center, surrounded by six scallop slices as ‘petals’, with cilantro leaves encircling the whole. I used 350 grams of scallops for this recipe, and the amount of dressing was just right for that quantity. If your scallops are significantly larger or smaller, you may want to adjust the other ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients

Serves 4 as an appetizer

• 14 scallops (total weight approximately 350 grams/.77 lbs)
• 4 Tbps (36 grams) dried shrimp, divided
• 1 or 2 small red Thai chili
• 20 grams (2 Tbsp) minced Thai palm sugar
• 40 grams (1/3 cup) minced shallots
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) fish sauce
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
• 6-8 sprigs cilantro, leaves and stems separate

Instructions

Use a spice grinder or small blender to grind 1 tablespoon of dried shrimp…

…until you obtain a fluffy powder.

Rinse the scallops under cold water and pat them dry thoroughly with paper towels. Then, slice each scallop in half horizontally to create two evenly thick discs.

Arrange the scallop slices in a bowl or on a plate, sprinkling each layer with ground dried shrimp. Distributing the shrimp powder this way ensures even coverage without the need to stir the scallops too much, which could cause them to tear or lose their shape.

Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce.

If you have a chamber vacuum sealer, you can speed up the marinating process by vacuum-sealing the scallops together with the marinade. Otherwise, simply cover the bowl and let the scallops marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. If you’re short on time, you can add the lime juice at this stage as well. However, I prefer to let the scallops marinate longer in just the fish sauce and salt first, to avoid ‘overcooking’ them in the lime juice, which can firm up their texture too much.

Place the remaining 3 tablespoons of dried shrimp in a bowl and cover them with hot or boiling water. Let the shrimp soak for at least 10 minutes to soften.

I used just one small red chili and removed the seeds. If you prefer more heat, you can leave the seeds in—or even use two chilies with seeds for extra spice. I like to mince the chilies before adding them to the mortar, as this makes it easier to pound them into a smooth paste with the pestle.

Add 20 grams of minced palm sugar to the mortar…

…and pound until it has fully dissolved.

Add the soaked shrimp to the mortar…

…and pound them together with the chili and palm sugar until you achieve a coarse paste.

About half an hour before serving, add 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice to the scallops. If you’ve vacuum-sealed them, cut open the bag just below the seal, add the lime juice, give it a gentle shake to distribute, and reseal.

Let the scallops continue marinating in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes. If you haven’t vacuum-sealed the scallops, the lime juice might not fully cover them. In that case, be sure to stir the scallops gently a few times during the marinating process to ensure they’re ‘cooked’ evenly.

To serve, transfer the contents of the mortar to a bowl. Place a sieve over the bowl and pour in the scallops, allowing the marinade to strain through. This way, the scallops are gently drained while the flavorful liquid is collected below.

Arrange the scallops on four plates, placing one slice in the center of each plate and six slices around it in a circle to form a flower-like pattern.

Add 40 grams of minced shallots and the finely chopped stems from 6 to 8 sprigs of cilantro to the bowl with the dressing. Also add any shrimp powder that may have been left behind in the sieve to the bowl, to ensure that none of the flavorful seasoning goes to waste.

Stir well to combine all the ingredients evenly.

Place a quarter of the solid part of the dressing on the center scallop of each plate. Drizzle the remaining liquid dressing evenly over the scallops. Finish by arranging cilantro leaves around the outside, placing one leaf between each pair of scallop slices.

Serve immediately. Let your guests know that the solid part of the dressing was placed on the center scallop for presentation purposes only, and that they should distribute it over all the scallops before eating.

Wine pairing

This dish pairs beautifully with the same style of wine that complements Thai eggplant salad: an unoaked white with a touch of aromatic character and a medium to full body. Rather than relying on sharp acidity, the wine should have structure from gentle bitterness, which balances the richness of the scallops and the umami of the dressing. Southern Italian whites are a great match—think of a Pecorello from Calabria or an Inzolia from Sicily. These wines offer subtle floral and herbal notes, a rounded mouthfeel, and just enough freshness to lift the dish without overwhelming it.