Scallop Terrine is a perfect dish for a special occasion. As soon as you put a small piece into your mouth, you will know why it is so special. The flavour of the scallops is so sensational that you can’t help blurting out ‘wow!’.
This recipe uses quite a bit of fresh scallops and I must admit that this is not a budget dish. But for a special occasion, I think it is worth it. Making of terrine can be complicated but this is surprisingly easy to make.
Strictly speaking, Scallop Terrine does not belong to RecipeTin Japan, which is meant to be a collection of Japanese dishes or the Japanese version of foreign dishes. This recipe is based on the Japanese recipe website called sou-recipe.com, and I modified the recipe slightly to suit to my palate and method. So, I decided to post this recipe on my blog site.
What’s in My Scallop Terrine
The following ingredients make 6 slices of terrine as a starter:
- 300g / 0.7lb fresh scallops – only the white muscle, no frills, no roe (coral)
- 60g / 2.1oz egg white – to bind the terrine ingredients
- 4g / 0.1oz (about ⅔ teaspoon) salt
- 120ml / 4.1oz cream
- 60ml /2.0oz double cream
- 80g / 2.8oz smoked trout slices – diced to 1cm / ⅜” square pieces
I used frozen sashimi scallops (I always keep them in my freezer). They come in a box of 500g / 1.1lb or 1kg / 2.2lb and are imported from Japan. You can buy them at Japanese/Asian grocery stores as well as some large fish shops.
The freezing method used for these scallops is so advanced and superior that you can eat them raw after thawing. To retain flavours of these scallops, there is a particular way of thawing them that is recommended by the Japanese scallop companies. See Note 11 in the recipe card.
If you don’t have access to those, you can of course purchase raw scallops from fish shops.
The original recipe used just cream but the flavour lacked richness, so I replaced part of it with double cream. If you prefer, you can use just cream.
The smoked trout mixed into the terrine is also my idea. The original recipe added shrimps instead. The raw shrimps were made into a semi-paste in a food processor, with small bits left in the paste so that the cooked terrine had red dots scattered in the white base.
I initially made a scallop terrine as per the original recipe. But I found that the flavour of the shrimp was so strong that the scallop flavour was lost a bit. Smoked trout pieces do not interfere with the scallop flavour, and they give the similar effect of red dots in the terrine.
I used trout because the red colour of the flesh is brighter than smoked salmon. But you can use salmon instead.
How to make Scallop Terrine
Tools you need:
Firstly, you will need few tools to make Scallop Terrine.
- Food processor or a stick blender with a bowl – I used a stick blender with a bowl.
- A small terrine pan or a loaf pan lined with foil and buttered – dimension of my pan was 15cm x 9.5cm, 7.5cm / 6″ x 3¾”, 3″ deep.
- A spatula – to mix and air the terrine paste.
- A piping bag – to squeeze out the terrine paste and fill the terrine pan. Because terrine paste is quite thick and sticky, it is easier to use the piping method.
- A large baking pan – for a water bath. It should be large enough to fit the terrine pan inside, with a bit of room around it. The depth of the pan should also be close to the terrine pan as a minimum.
- Cardboard or plastic board cut to the shape of the opening of the terrine pan, wrapped in cling wrap. Place this beneath the weight so that the pressure on the terrine gets spread evenly.
- 1kg /2.2 lb weight – I used a carton of beef stock.
Making Terrine:
Once all ingredients and tools are prepared, it’s quite fast to make a terrine paste and cook it in the oven.
- Using a food processor or a stick blender, blitz the scallops until it becomes a paste.
- Add salt and blitz in batches. Do the same with egg white.
- Add cream + double cream in batches and mix well to air the paste.
- Mix in the smoked trout pieces.
- Put the paste mixture into a terrine pan and cover with foil.
- Bake at 150°C / 302°F in a water bath for 40 minutes.
- Cool it down with a weight on the top, then chill it in the fridge without the weight.
The recipe card is quite long because I added very detailed instructions and notes, however the process is not complicated nor difficult. And the final dish is very tasty.
Scallop Terrine is packed full of scallop flavours. The red dots of the smoked trout give the terrine a more attractive look. Adding just a sprig of parsley is sufficient to make the dish look great.
Serve a slice per person as a starter or serve it with crackers and have it like a pâté. Scallop Terrine keeps few days in the fridge.
Yumiko
Scallop Terrine is a perfect dish for a special occasion. As soon as you put a small piece into your mouth, you will know why this is so special. The flavour of the scallops is so sensational that you can’t help blurting out ‘wow!’.
Total Time includes the time to cool it down sufficiently so that you can chill it in the fridge, but it does not include the time to chill the terrine in the fridge.
I referenced the recipe from the Japanese website sou-recipe.com.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 300g / 0.7lb scallops without coral and frills, pat dried (note 1)
- 4g / 0.1oz salt
- 60g / 2.1oz egg white (about 2 eggs)
- 120ml / 4.1oz cream (note 2)
- 60ml / 2.0oz double cream (note 2)
- 70-80g / 2.5-2.8oz smoked trout slices cut into 1cm / ⅜” square pieces (note 3)
- Boiling water to fill the roasting pan/cake pan
- Sprigs of parsley
- A small 800ml / 1.7pt terrine pan/loaf pan (note 4)
- A cardboard or plastic board cut to the same dimension as the opening of the terrine pan
- 1kg / 2.2lb weight (can be a carton of juice/soup stock etc)
- A food processor (note 5)
- A spatula
- A piping bag
- A roasting pan/cake pan lined with kitchen paper (note 6)
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Heat oven to 150°C/ 302°F.
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Wet inside of the terrine pan, then line with foil covering long sides and the bottom, leaving a sufficient length on both ends of the foil (so that they can cover the top later).
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Remove creases of the foil by rubbing the surface, then butter all sides and the bottom of the pan.
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Cover the cardboard/plastic board completely with clingwrap
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Remove the tiny side muscle from each scallop (optional, note 7).
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Put all the scallops in the food processor and blitz until the scallops become a paste. You may need to occasionally push down the paste stuck on the side with a spatula.
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Add salt in a few batches and blitz.
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Add egg white, small amount at a time, while processing the paste.
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When the egg white is well mixed and the mixture becomes smooth, add about 1/5 of the cream to the scallop paste.
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Use a spatula to mix well. Move the spatula quickly right and left several times, trying to get air into the mixture. This will help make the soft texture of the terrine.
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Add the remaining cream in 4 batches and mix the paste in the same way.
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Add the smoked trout to the scallop paste and mix in a cutting motion with the spatula initially to spread the trout pieces evenly (because they are stuck), then mix well.
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Transfer the paste to a piping bag (note 8), cut the tip of the piping bag off to make an opening of about 1cm in diameter.
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Fill the terrine pan with the scallop paste by squeezing the paste out of the bag, filling the bottom of the pan with 3-4 strands of the paste. Avoid air pockets as much as possible.
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Fill the pan with the rest of the paste by squeezing out the paste in the same way on top of the existing layer (I made 3 layers). Smooth the surface with the spatula or the back of a spoon.
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Lift and drop the pan onto a work bench a few times to remove the air pockets inside the paste.
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Fold the excess foil on both sides of the pan to cover the surface of the terrine. Then cover the pan with two layers of aluminium foil.
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Place the terrine pan on the kitchen paper in a roasting pan/cake pan and place it on the middle shelf of the oven.
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Add the boiling water to the outer pan as high as possible.
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Steam bake for 40 minutes (note 9).
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Take the terrine out of the oven, remove it from the hot water bath.
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Place the board on top of the foil cover as if you are putting a lid on the terrine. Place a weight on it (note 10) and leave for 10-15 minutes until it cools down enough so that you can touch the pan by hand.
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Remove the weight and the board, place the terrine pan into ice water to cool it down sufficiently so that you can put it in the fridge. Chill it in the fridge completely.
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Remove the foil cover, lift the excess foil that was folded over the surface and transfer the terrine from the pan to a cutting board. Gently remove the foil from the terrine.
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Cut the terrine into 6 slices and serve each slice on a plate with a sprig of parsley.
1. I used sashimi quality frozen scallops that came in a box of 500g or 1kg. These are imported from Japan. You can buy them at Japanese/Asian grocery stores and some fish shops.
There is a particular method of defrosting these sashimi quality scallops to retain flavours. It is recommended by the Japanese scallop companies. See note 11.
You can also use fresh scallops that are sold for sashimi or cooking.
2. Instead of mixing cream and double cream, you can use 180ml cream if you prefer a slightly lighter flavour.
3. As an alternative, you can use smoked salmon.
The original recipe uses fresh shrimps that are processed into a semi-paste. I found that the shrimp flavour was overpowering the delicate scallop flavour. But if you want to use shrimp instead, use 80g / 2.8oz of peeled shrimp.
4. My terrine pan was metal. The dimensions were 15cm x 9.5cm / 6" x 3¾" and 7.5cm / 3" deep. A terrine pan with different dimensions makes different size of sliced terrine.
5. Alternatively, use a stick blender with a bowl.
6. It should be large enough to comfortably place the terrine pan inside. The depth needs to be about the same as the terrine pan or deeper.
7. The original recipe suggests removing the side muscle as it is a tough piece of flesh. Removing them makes the texture of terrine marginally smoother. See the photo in Note 11.
If you are removing the tough muscles, you need to allow for extra scallops to make up to 300g.
8. Since the paste is quite thick, it is easier to fill the terrine pan with a piping bag. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a thick plastic bag, e.g. zip lock bag, as an alternative.
9. To check if the terrine is done, poke the centre of the terrine with a metal skewer for 5 seconds, then remove and check the temperature by putting the tip on your lips. If the tip is comfortably warm, it is done.
10. This will level the surface of the terrine. Prolonged weighting or using a heavier weight makes the terrine too dense.
11. Best way to thaw frozen sashimi quality scallops:
- Put 1½-2 cups of ice in a bowl. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt over the ice.
- Place frozen scallops in the ice and cover the bowl with cling wrap.
- Leave it at room temperature for 3-5 hours (time varies depending on the size of scallops).
- When the scallop are almost thawed and the centre of the scallop is still little bit frozen, remove from the ice and pat dry with kitchen paper.
12. Nutrition per serving.
serving: 103g calories: 163kcal fat: 12g (18%) saturated fat: 7.2g (36%) trans fat: 0.4g polyunsaturated fat: 0.6g monounsaturated fat: 3.1g cholesterol: 56mg (19%) sodium: 565mg (24%) potassium: 192mg (5%) carbohydrates: 2.5g (1%) dietary fibre: 0g (0%) sugar: 0.9g protein: 12g vitamin a: 11% vitamin c: 0.3% calcium: 2% iron: 1.9%
Meal Ideas
A typical Japanese meal consists of a main dish, a couple of side dishes, a soup and rice. I try to come up with a combination of dishes with a variety of flavours, colours, textures and make-ahead dishes.
Having Scallop Terrine as a starter of the meal, I tried to pick yōshoku (Western-style food) to go with it. Cabbage Rolls is a perfect match. The modest amount of meat in Cabbage Rolls gives a good balance with the Scallop Terrine.
Among my collection of soups that are traditional Japanese soups, I think Kenchinjiru is best suited for the dishes listed today. It goes well with bread.
- Main: Cabbage Rolls – Japanese Style – make ahead for marinating
- Side dish 1: Scallop Terrine – today’s recipe, make ahead
- Side dish 2: Mixed Vegetable Salad Dressing over fresh salad or steamed vegetables – make ahead dressing
- Soup: Japanese Vegetable Soup (Kenchinjiru) – make ahead
- Bread: Soft No Knead Dinner Rolls from RecipeTin Eats
Akiko says
Hi Yumiko,
I am Akiko, living in Toronto Canada. I just visited your site, because someone mentioned your recipes in his real estate news letter. I found your recipe, so wonderful and sophisticated. I am a professional cook and I made terrines at the college and restaurant, but I’ve never made terrine at home. I would love to make this one for my friends soon. They would be very impressed! Thanks and I will drop by soon again.
Yumiko says
Hi Akiko, a lady from the real estate agent in Toronto asked me if she could put my recipe on their flyers. That was quite some time ago. So I am surprised that it was still happening. I’m glad that it led you to my site!
The scallop terrine was a hit among my friends. I hope you like it and please let me know how it went.
Mazza Barry says
My taste buds are tingling at the thought of tasting this terrine HOWEVER there is an error with the oven temperature noted as 3/4!!!!!
Would you please advise the correct oven temperature to use? . Also why do you say to remove the coral as this to me personally (and I love love scallops and had some for lunch yesterday) the coral is a very tasty part of a scallop. Again many thanks for your wonderful range of recipes. on your website.
Yumiko says
Hi Mazza, I am so sorry about the BIG mistake. It was meant to be 150°C / 302°F and I fixed it. Thanks a lot!
I am only guessing here but I think that the white colour of the base terrine comes out better without coral. Also the sashimi quality scallops are just the white part. I am sure you can make it including coral.
Nagi@RecipeTInEats says
Mum – this was SUPER delicious! Can’t believe we’ve never had it before. 🙂 Great one for summer entertaining!!
Yumiko says
Perfect timing for Australia Day!