Basil Cilantro Lobster Noodles (紫蘇芫茜龍蝦麵, Zi2 Sou1 Jyun4 Sai1 Lung4 Haa1 Min6)

Happy New Year! For the first dish of the New Year, here’s a lobster noodle dish seasoned with basil and cilantro. The normal lobster dish found in restaurants is usually made with a fresh whole lobster (shell included) and you have to remove the meat from the shell in order to eat the dish. The dish is visually stunning with the bright red lobster shell, but a messy pain to eat (at least in my opinion). I would rather not have the visually stunning presentation and use cooked (not fresh) lobster meat removed from the shell. I use kitchen shears to remove the meat from the lobster shells, especially the small legs that contain that hard to get at lobster meat. If a whole lobster is too much of a challenge, you can substitute cooked lobster tails. For this dish, I used basil and cilantro for added flavor in this dish. The traditional lobster noodle recipe just uses lobster, so this variation adds a nice fresh herbal note to the dish.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Oil Imitation Lobster Ball Shabu Shabu Beef Stir Fry (黑豆辣椒油龍蝦丸炒涮涮锅牛肉, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Jau4 Lung4 Haa1 Jyun4 Caau2 Saan3 Saan3 Wo1 Ngau4 Juk6)

Think of this dish as a Chinese stir fry version of surf and turf. For those not native to North America, surf and turf refers to lobster (surf) and steak (turf), usually broiled or barbequed, served together in one dish, usually without vegetables. As is common in the USA, the lobster and steak are the main ingredients and are large in quantity. The dish is usually the most expensive seafood and steak combination dish on a restaurant’s menu.

So my stir fry version uses imitation lobster balls and Shabu Shabu beef. Imitation lobster balls can be purchased at your local Asian market and do not contain any lobster in them (they’re colored to make them look like lobster). As far as I know, you cannot purchase true lobster balls, since they would be prohibitively expensive. Shabu Shabu beef is thinly sliced and can usually be purchased at your local Japanese or Asian market. Depending upon the cut of meat used, the price can vary widely. The seafood and meat combination is commonly used in Chinese dishes, so this recipe uses those ingredients to give an Asian take on a favorite American dish.

Enjoy!

Chili Black Bean Sauce Chicken and Imitation Lobster Balls (辣椒豆豉龍蝦丸鷄, Laat6 Ziu1 Dau6 Si6 Lung4 Haa1 Jyun4 Gai1)

Imitation lobster balls are available at your local Asian market either refrigerated or frozen. One of the local markets that I frequent, had some already thawed in the refrigerated section in the fish section. Imitation lobster balls are really fish balls with red bits (to resemble lobster) and lobster flavor added, so any fish or shrimp ball can be substituted if lobster balls are not available. If real lobster were used, this dish would be very luxurious and very expensive to make! The lobster balls are paired with chicken to make a classic seafood and meat flavor combination dish.

Enjoy!

Shallot Sauce Lobster Noodles (紅蔥龍蝦麵, Hung4 Cung1 Lung4 Haa1 Min6)

Lobster is not a frequently used ingredient that I use, given the cost and all the work needed to extract the meat from the shell.  I found a cooked lobster available at my local Asian market for a good price and decided that I wanted to make a noodle dish. The previous published Lobster Noodles (龍蝦麵, Lung⁴ Haa¹ Min⁶) recipe, uses a sauce thickened by corn starch. This lobster noodle dish doesn’t use a thickener for the sauce and is made more like a traditional chow mein recipe. The main ingredient in the sauce is a prepared shallot sauce that also can be purchased at your local Asian market. The combination of shallot sauce and lobster tastes pretty good, so give this recipe a try if you’re lucky enough to find a good priced cooked lobster.

Enjoy!

Lobster Noodles (龍蝦麵, Lung4 Haa1 Min6)

Happy New Year! For the first dish of the New Year, here’s a lobster noodle dish. The traditional recipe puts the cooked lobster pieces with the shell over a bed of cooked noodles using a chicken stock based sauce. This recipe is differs from the traditional in three major techniques, the first being stir frying the ingredients like a chow mein dish, the second being using shelled lobster meat, and the third being a sauce made from lobster stock to further emphasize the lobster flavor. The stock is made by boiling the lobster shells after removing the meat. Any lobster stock not used in this recipe can be used in other dishes.

I found that using kitchen shears is the best way to remove the meat from the lobster shells, especially the small legs that contain that hard to get at lobster meat. If a whole lobster is too much of a challenge, you can substitute lobster tails. Since I’d rather eat lobster without having to pick out the shells, I remove the meat from the shells before cooking. The cooked lobster shells provide a deep red color to the traditional dish, but I’d rather eat the lobster than look at it.

Enjoy!