Scallops & Shrimp in Miso Lime Coconut Sauce
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This scallops & shrimp in miso lime coconut sauce is a flavorful seafood recipe made with seared scallops and shrimp simmered in a creamy coconut milk broth with white miso, lime juice, and aromatics. The combination of sweet shellfish, citrus, and umami-rich miso creates a balanced, comforting dish that feels both light and indulgent. Served over rice with wilted greens, it’s a quick, elevated dinner that comes together in under 30 minutes. If you can’t get enough scallops during the warmer months, try these brown butter scallops with watermelon and tomato or my creamy seafood sauce over shrimp and scallops.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Big flavor, minimal effort – A deeply savory, citrusy broth comes together in 30 minutes with pantry staples.
- Elevated seafood at home – Perfectly seared scallops and shrimp keep the dish feeling gourmet.
- Balanced and comforting – Creamy coconut milk with bright lime and fresh herbs keeps it from feeling heavy.
All About Miso
Miso paste is made by fermenting soybeans with different grains. There are a variety of types of the salty, sweet and savory paste. For this recipe, I use white miso which is fermented with a high percentage of white rice giving it a lighter color.
The umami-packed ingredient is traditionally used in Japanese cuisine, but I add it to everything from vegetable dishes to soups. And FYI: miso is salty, so taste before adding additional salt to the dish!
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Shrimp – The terms “jumbo” and “extra jumbo” and “colossal” aren’t standardized terms within the industry. Instead look at the numbers – they estimate approximately how many shrimp are in 1 pound. The shrimp should be peeled and deveined before beginning the recipe.
- Scallops – When cooking with scallops look for “dry packed” as they won’t contain any preservatives or additives.
- Miso – I use white miso paste in this recipe made from fermented soybeans. This type of miso has a sweeter, more mild taste that complements the coconut milk.
- Coconut Milk – Coconut comes from the creamy liquid inside mature coconuts. It creates a rich, creamy sauce with a bit of coconut flavor. The coconut milk complements the shrimp and scallops in this dish.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Pro Tip
Pat the scallops completely dry before searing and avoid overcrowding the pan—this ensures a golden crust instead of steaming, giving you that restaurant-quality finish.
Swaps and Substitutions
- Scallops: Substitute with additional shrimp or chunks of firm white fish like cod.
- Shrimp: Use all scallops or swap with prawns or lobster if preferred.
- White miso: Yellow miso can be used, though it has a slightly stronger flavor.
- Coconut milk: Use light coconut milk for a lighter broth.
- Spinach: Substitute with kale, bok choy, or omit entirely.
- Lime juice: Swap with lemon juice for a slightly different citrus profile.
How to Make Shrimp & Scallops with Miso Lime Sauce (Step-by-Step)
Lay out the shrimp on paper towels and season the shrimp with salt and pepper on both sides. Do the same with the scallops. Place a large sauté pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and heat through. Add a tablespoon of butter and allow to melt.
Add the shrimp and cook on each side until pink and no longer translucent, about a minute on each side. Remove from pan and place on paper towels. Cover to keep warm.
Add the remaining olive oil and butter to the pan, allowing it to melt. Then add the scallops to the pan and cook until lightly browned on each side and just barely cooked through. Remove from the pan and place on a plate.
Reserve as much oil in the pan as possible and return the pan to medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender and opaque. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the miso paste and sauté for 1 minute.
Whisk in the coconut milk and 1 cup of water. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and stir until the spinach wilts, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice.
Return the shrimp and scallops to the pan. Divide the shrimp and scallops among serving bowls with jasmine rice. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serrano peppers and serve immediately.
How to Serve Scallops & Shrimp in Miso Lime Coconut Sauce
- Over rice: Serve with jasmine rice to soak up the flavorful coconut broth.
- Bowl-style: Add extra greens or herbs for a balanced, one-bowl meal.
- Entertaining: Serve in shallow bowls with a spoon for the broth and chopsticks or a fork for the seafood.
- With sides: Pair with crusty bread to scoop up the sauce.
How to Store Scallops & Shrimp in Miso Lime Coconut Sauce
- Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Reheat: Warm gently over low heat to avoid overcooking the seafood.
- Store separately: If possible, store seafood and broth separately for best texture.
- Do not freeze: The seafood can become rubbery and the coconut sauce may separate.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Cook scallops quickly over medium-high heat and remove them from the pan as soon as they are lightly browned to prevent overcooking.
You can prepare the broth ahead, but cook the seafood just before serving for the best texture and flavor.
Miso adds a salty, slightly sweet, umami-rich depth that enhances the coconut milk and complements the seafood.
Jasmine rice is the most common pairing, as it absorbs the broth and balances the rich flavors of the dish.
Other Recipes to Try
If you loved the freshness of this quick seafood dish, give the following recipes a try on a warm summer night:
- Pepperoni Fried Rice with Scallops and Garlic Aioli
- Brown Butter Scallops with Watermelon and Heirloom Tomato
- Creamy Seafood Sauce over Shrimp and Scallops
Tried it? Loved it? Tweaked it? Leave a review below and tell me how it went – I’m all ears (and always hungry).
Scallops & Shrimp in Miso Lime Coconut Sauce
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Ingredients:
- ¾ pound dry-packed sea scallops
- ¾ pound jumbo 16/20 per pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons minced ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- 1 (13-ounce) can coconut milk (shake vigorously before opening)
- 3 ounces baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- Jasmine rice, for serving
- Handful cilantro leaves
- 1 medium serrano pepper, thinly sliced
Instructions:
- Lay out the shrimp on paper towels and season the shrimp with salt and pepper on both sides. Do the same with the scallops. Place a large sauté pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and heat through. Add a tablespoon of butter and allow to melt.
- Add the shrimp and cook on each side until pink and no longer translucent, about a minute on each side. Remove from pan and place on paper towels. Cover to keep warm.
- Add the remaining olive oil and butter to the pan, allowing it to melt, then add the scallops to the pan and cook until lightly browned on each side and just barely cooked through, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and place on a plate.
- Reserve as much oil in the pan as possible and return the pan to medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender and opaque, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
- Add the miso paste and sauté for 1 minute. Whisk in the coconut milk and 1 cup of water. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and stir until the spinach wilts, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice.
- Return the shrimp and scallops to the pan. Divide the shrimp and scallops among serving bowls with jasmine rice. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serrano peppers and serve immediately.
Notes:
Nutrition:
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We made this last night and I can’t stop thinking about it. It was so incredibly delicious! The only changes we made were adding 2 serranos in with the red onion for more heat and we used rice noodles instead of rice. (The recipe didn’t mention when to add the lime juice so we just stirred it in at the end.) Highly recommend this recipe! It is a keeper!
SO happy to hear you enjoyed!! Love some more heat and love the rice noodle swap! I will definitely have to try that out. Thank you for the note on the lime juice! Apologies & I will make sure to add that step! Your notes on recipes help to make them the best they can be!!
A hit at our family table, so much so that we did not have any leftovers. This recipe is flavorful and sophisticated, yet so simple to create! A truly special dish that we will certainly be enjoying again! Try it!
Loved – just needed to thicken it up a bit with flour. Keeper!!!!
I halved the recipe for my husband and me. I would make a few slight changes next time. Bok choy instead of spinach is one. Another would be to get more of a crust on the scallops rather than cooking until “lightly browned.” That’s a preference thing for me – I like some texture to my scallops. I think scallops aren’t a “must have” in this dish, you could use a nice white fish in place of them if you wanted to. I used light coconut milk and I would like a little more body next time, so I’d suggest using regular coconut milk. And one last thing I’d do next time would be to add lemon grass (which we grow anyway). It was a nice, easy recipe with plenty of potential to be even better. Thank you for the inspiration.
Hi – I have a huge bag of red miso I need to get through. Could I use it in this recipe and would I need to make any adjustments? Thank you!
Yes! Red miso will absolutely work. It is made with a larger percentage of soybeans and fermented for a longer period of time so it will be stronger than white miso. Because of this I recommend using slightly less in the recipe. Instead of 1/4 cup white miso I would recommend using 3 tablespoons of red. Hope you enjoy!
We LOVED this!! Scaled it down for two but also made all the sauce because Hampton loves sauce. Subbed kale for personal texture preference and left off serranos and subbed a few shakes of red pepper flakes because lazy. 100% getting proper pepper next time. I can’t do cilantro (wish I could!), so we added a furikake garnish…. not at all the same, but tasty!
So happy to hear you enjoyed!! Thank you for sharing! Great substitution notes too!!
Such a fun meal to make! And so delicious! It was a hit with everyone!
Wow – this is delicious! The sauce has so much flavor going on there! I must admit to always doubling garlic and fresh ginger – so I did tweak a bit. But otherwise prepared as written. It made a good amount of sauce, which was perfect so that even the rice got a nice dousing! We’ll definitely be having this again!
Noting wrong with extra garlic and ginger! Thank you so much for sharing! I’m so happy to hear you will be making this one again!
Yikes, I didn’t leave any stars on my review! If I could, I’d give it ten stars – but this five is the best I can do…
I made this over Easter weekend for my inlaws and they LOVED it. We were looking for something somewhat customizable for the Friday before lent and this hit every single note. I plan to make it again this weekend!
Yay!! I am so happy to hear everyone enjoyed!