We eat quite a bit of food with a Southeast Asian flare around here. Sometimes I make it; other times I seek it out and purchase it, but either way, we’re no stranger to the flavors or the fantastic smells that cooking with rice wines and vinegars, teeny, tiny chili peppers or lemongrass and ginger bring.

I was recently asked to try out Nakano’s Seasoned Rice Vinegar and to give a lucky reader the chance to do the same. I agreed, seeing that Nakano’s Natural Rice Vinegar was hanging out in my cupboard already. It seemed like a great opportunity to try what else they had to offer, and I decided to give the Red Pepper variety a spin along with some delicious scallops and a bit of lemongrass. Start by chooping up your lemongrass, ginger and peppers (wear gloves to protect yourself from the long-lasting burning that can come from chopping hot peppers).

Start by chopping up a bit of lemongrass, ginger and a Thai pepper or two depending on how hot and spicy you like your scallops.
Add your marinade ingredients to a shallow bowl or plate: rice vinegar, lemongrass, ginger, 1-2 Thai peppers, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Give your sea scallops a bath in the marinade, only 2 minutes per side. Longer marinating times with scallops can make them mushy, so don’t over-marinate.

Over medium-high heat get a bit of canola oil heating in a pan. Place the scallops in and cook for 2-3 minutes until they form a nice crust on one side.

Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the second side. Remove the scallops from the pan and set aside.

De-glaze the pan by adding the marinating liquid to the pan. Continue to cook the sauce over medium heat to reduce for 5-7 minutes.

When the sauce is thick and reduced, it’s time to eat.

Serve the scallops on their own or over rice and vegetables, using the reduced sauce to pour over the top. These were delicious and the perfect complement to the red Thai curry we served them alongside (recipe to follow). So, while you’re waiting for me to get going on that recipe, I hope you enjoy this one, and a little giveaway to go along with it.

All in all, I love the idea of the seasoned rice vinegars, but I have to say I’ll stick to the Nakano Natural variety. I’m a purist, and ingredients that read: “rice vinegar, water” are just what I am looking for, no sugar or other sweeteners needed.

Enter the Giveaway:

One winner will receive a $25 Visa Gift Card and bottle of Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar to try, along with a coupon and recipe booklet for even more ideas.
1. Tell me what your favorite recipes with rice vinegar are. If you haven’t used it before, tell me which ones you’ve seen that have caught your eye.

2. Follow @FoodforMyFamily on Twitter and tweet the following. Then come back and let me know you’ve tweeted!
Enter to win a $25 Gift Card and bottle of Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar from @FoodforMyFamily: http://bit.ly/9E1UUv
3. Join the Food for My Family community on Facebook. I’ve been working on asking reader questions and looking for feedback, so it’d be great to have your input there as well!


Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. CT on Friday, 9/10. Winner will be chosen using Random.org and notified by email. In the event that the winner doesn’t respond to the email within 48 hours, I’ll choose a new winner.

Disclosure: I was given the Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar for this recipe and compensated for my review. The opinions expressed are my own.

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