Stuffed Lobster Tails
Description: The literal translation, "Healthy and Spirited
Dragon and Horse" cannot convey the symbolic values of the poetically
rhyming Chinese characters. In the Cantonese dialect, a lobster is a
"dragon shrimp" and the word for "horse" sounds
similar to part of "water chestnut". Both creatures summon up
images of power, stamina, elegance and other desired virtues. 
Ingredients:
- 12 Fresh lobsters (450 g)
- 1/2 cup Diced water chestnut (or -celery)
- Cooking oil
- CORNSTARCH MIXTURE
- pinch Of salt
- 1/4 tsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Stock (or water)
- PORTUGUESE SAUCE
- 3 tsp Butter
- 1 1/2 tsp Flour
- 1/3 cup Coconut juice
- 1/3 cup Stock (or water)
- 1 1/2 tsp Evaporated milk 1
- 1/2 tsp Curry powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- STUFFING
- 1/2 cup Finely chopped skinless raw -chicken meat
- 1/2 cup Finely chopped onion
- 1/4 cup Finely chopped abalone (or -button mushrooms)
- 8 Presoaked and finely -chopped small dried black -Chinese
mushrooms
- 1/8 cup Finely chopped Chinese -celery (or Western celery)
- 1 tsp Finely chopped dry shallots
- 1/3 cup Chopped raw lobster meat -(shrimp or ham)
- Cooking oil
- COATING
- 2 Beaten eggs Bread crumbs
- GARNISH
- 1 Or 2 dried scallops (or red -pepper)
Instructions:
Soak and wash dried scallops. Shred and deep-fry until crisp, and put
aside for garnish. If using red pepper, chop finely.
Remove lobster shells. Retain tails and clean. Set aside enough uncooked
lobster meat required for stuffing, and dice it fairly finely. Chop
remaining lobster meat into small square chunks.
Prepare cornstarch mixture, mixing well.
For Portuguese sauce, heat butter over low flame, add flour, then rest of
sauce ingredients. Cook into a paste, set aside.
For stuffing, sauté ingredients in a little oil over low flame. Add
Portuguese sauce. Remove from heat and when cooled, stuff into lobster
tail shells. Brush exposed stuffing with egg, sprinkle with bread
crumbs.
Heat until smoking, sufficient oil for deep-frying, lower flame, and
immerse stuffed lobster tails (stuffing facing upwards) for 5 minutes, or
until golden. Remove from wok. (Alternatively, bake unbread-crumbed
stuffed lobster tails in a hot oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until surfaces are
dry. Brush with egg and coat with bread crumbs, bake again until
golden.)
For lobster meat chunks, heat wok, add 4 to 5 cups of oil. When oil is at
medium heat add lobster meat and blanch to seal in the juice. Remove
lobster. Clean and reheat wok with 1/2 cup oil, and stir-fry lobster with
diced water chestnut (or celery) and cornstarch mixture for 1
minute.
To present: Place stir-fried mixture in center of platter, and sprinkle
shredded dried scallops (or chopped red pepper) over. Arrange
lobster tails in a circle around it.
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