Grilled Scallop Skewers (帆立串焼き, Hotate Kushiyaki)

Good hotate don't need coaxing. They come to the grill already sweet, briny, and full of their own clear juice, especially when cold-water scallops are in shun, at their prime. Choose dry sea scallops that smell clean and faintly sweet, not like a chemical rinse. Sourcing first. With shellfish, the best technique is mostly the courtesy of not spoiling what you bought.

The fear here is overcooking, and it is a reasonable fear. A scallop moves from tender to rubber in the time it takes a serious person to adjust their glasses. So we give it hot direct heat, one turn, and a glaze only at the end. Brush butter and shōyu on too early and the soy catches, the milk solids darken, and the sweetness turns bitter. Brush it late and it lacquers the surface without hiding the scallop.

Kushiyaki means skewer-grilled, and it is the method, not the menu. Three scallops on a stick, a little salt, a little butter-shōyu, and the judgment to stop when the center changes from clear to milky white. Serve them as yakimono, the grilled note in a meal, or beside the first drink before rice. Leave them room on the plate. 本物 (honmono, the real thing) is often this plain.