Ingredients (2 ppl):
- 1 live lobster from Henderson To Home.
- 4 tblsp veg oil or a neutral oil.
- 1 knob ginger sliced julienne.
- 3 cloves garlic sliced.
- 5 spring onions (sliced finely with the tops kept separate from the whites).
- 3 fresh red chillis sliced seeds in.
- 5 dried chillis (rehydrate in your rice water whilst cooking, remove and cut to 1cm).
- 2 tblsp chilli bean sauce.
- 2 tblsp gochujang chilli paste.
- 1 tblsp tamarind paste.
- 1/2 tin tomatoes.
- 3 tblsp kecap manis.
- 2 tblsp brown crab meat from Henderson To Home.
- 1 tblsp white crab meat from Henderson To Home.
- Black rice vinegar, soy & fish sauce to season.
- Plain Rice cooked to your liking.
Method:
Blanch the lobster in well seasoned water for 1 1/2 minutes on a rapid boil with a lid on. Remove and chill in iced water. Remove the tail of the lobster by twisting it and pulling away from the head. Cut the tail in to 3 or 4 pieces. Cut the head down the middle following the natural line, and smash the claws and knuckles with the back of a heavy knife.
In a heavy wok, add the oil then fry the garlic, spring onion whites, chilli and ginger on a medium to high heat until fragrant. Then add the rehydrated dry chilli, gochujang and chilli bean paste, and fry until the oil has taken on its red colour.
Season the exposed flesh of the lobster with salt and add the head and claws of the lobster to the wok and stir on a high heat for 2 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes and tamarind paste and bring to the boil. Add the tail meat to the wok and cover with a lid. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove the lid and reduce the sauce until it’s sticky and coating. Season with fish sauce and vinegar to your taste. Fold in the white and brown crab meat. This will help thicken the sauce and enrich it even further. If you don’t have crab, add an egg after you have reduced the sauce.
Serve with the reserved spring onion tops, coriander stalks scattered on top with rice.
