Lately I've been using the ginger and scallion pairing a lot in my food. I love the aroma and taste of the two ingredients together. Before, I would only use it on steamed fish. In my previous post, I started using it on fried fish. Now, I'm using it on lobster.
You've seen this dish many times before - served at your favorite Chinese restaurants and also a popular dish on wedding reception menus. With the inspiration from my childhood friend combined with some tips from the baker of QQ Bakery, I attempt to make the dish myself.
It was Valentine's day and I had no plans for the evening, so I decided to make dinner a little more special than usual for the folks. I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work and pick up a lobster - my first time preparing one of these bad boys!
Fresh from the tank. I gave it a good wash.
Since I've never prepared lobster before, I turned to youtube for an instructional video on how to cut the lobster into serving size pieces - making sure to whack the claws a little bit to expose the meat, allowing the sauce to seep in.
Prep: 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 minced shallot, some slices of ginger, and a few scallions cut into 1.5 inch pieces.
In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sambal chili paste, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and chili flakes to suite your spicy level.
Pat the lobster pieces off to remove excess moisture. Coat the lobster pieces well with tapioca starch.
Deep fry the lobster pieces (I used a small pan and finished the frying in about 3 small batches). Be careful - the moisture from the lobster may cause some splattering. When they're just about cooked- remove them from the oil and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. They will finish cooking in the sauce.
Start the glaze as the lobster is frying up: In a shallow skillet or wok, brown your shallots in a little bit of oil on med-low heat.
Add the ginger and garlic and continue to saute for another minute when the garlic turns a light brown - making sure to keep an eye on the lobster (kitchen is starting to smell so good!)
Add the soy sauce mixture and about 1/2 a tablespoon of palm sugar. Stir and let reduce for about 2 minutes
Add the fried lobster to the sauce. Toss and cooked the lobster in the sauce for another 2-3 minutes. Stirring well to let the sauce get into the crack of the lobster shell.
Add the scallions, give it another good toss to wilt the scallions and it's ready to serve!
I want some more...
