Before you take it out of the pan, add the tamari, or soy, and stir for a further minute.
Pour in the soy milk and soy sauce, whisk gently for a minute, then divide the mixture between four individual shallow ovenproof dishes (16cm x 12cm oval ceramic dishes work well but similar-sized round ramekins are fine); the custard should come 1cm-1.5cm up the sides.
The difference really comes in the marinades, which range from the wonderfully simple – Rosemary Brissenden's garlic, ginger and light soy sauce version in South East Asian Food – to the fiendishly complex: Vongerichten's involves 11 ingredients, David Thompson's Thai Street Food and Saveur magazine10 apiece, almost all of which require toasting or chopping and grinding before use.
Stir in the kecap manis and lime juice, add a little water or coconut milk if it's too thick, then taste to check the balance of flavours; add more lime juice, sugar or soy sauce if you think it's lacking.
Makes 4 220g uncooked short-grain Japanese rice 270ml water 10g katsuobushi (fish flakes) Soy sauce 4 medium umeboshi (pickled plums), stone removed 1 sheet of nori seaweed, cut into 4 strips Sea salt 1 Wash the rice in cold water and drain, repeating until the water is clear.
Blanched leafy greens are transformed by a libation of sizzling oil over slivers of ginger and spring onion, and a dash of good soy sauce.
This 10-part meal is expensive, but it's beautifully prepared and you probably won't want any other food than a late light supper after breakfasting on miso soup with tofu, pickled vegetables, nori seaweed, salted fish, Japanese omelette, steamed rice, spinach with sesame seeds, fried tofu, salmon sashimi, daikon turnips with soy sauce and green tea.
As a balance, some soy sauce – Stein's syrupy Indonesian kecap manis, and ordinary salty stuff – works wonders.
Add the soy sauce mixture and the noodles, and stir-fry for about three minutes, until the dish is heated through.
Lift the scallops onto 4 warmed plates and pour over some of the warm soy sauce and sesame oil.
His tofu, which inspired this dish, is really a soy custard, but who cares when it's as delicious and smooth as this.
