Singapore-Style

Last night, I picked up a few lobsters and set to work making the first recipe from a cookbook I've been pretty intimidated by ever since I received it. The book is Gordon Ramsay's Maze, and it really is a beautiful cookbook. It's organized in threes, with three dishes using one main ingredient, before moving on to another. I was intrigued by the recipe for Native Lobster Singapore-Style, and I was right, it was delicious. However, I wish I had gotten softer shelled lobster because when a sauced dish uses lobster still in its shell, it can make for a very messy dinner!

This recipe started off with a little bit of murder...I know, don't judge me. I had my husband do it because it's still a bit difficult for me to do myself. The best way to do it is by using a heavy chef's knife to quickly cut into the natural cross of the lobster's head, and then cut down and slit it in half. It takes a minute for the lobsters to stop twitching and that can be a bit startling, so be prepared. Once they are good and, well, dead, the recipe asked me to cut the tails into pieces, keeping the meat in the shell. The claws needed a good cracking which was quite difficult with these really hard shells. I panfried all the pieces of lobster in a large wok of heated peanut oil. This made for some really succulent lobster meat - I was totally impressed by this technique!

Once the lobsters were pan-fried to perfection, I removed them and set them off to the side while I heated some diced onion, minced garlic and ginger, a chopped red chile and some salt and pepper. After a few minutes, I added bean paste, sweet chili sauce, ketchup and 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped. After another minute or two, I added some sesame oil and soy sauce, stirred it together and turned the heat down, allowing the mixture to simmer for a couple of minutes. As you can see, the dish comes together quite quickly, so I'm glad I had my sticky rice cooking all this time in the rice cooker.

I poured a cup of stock into the wok, and returned the lobster as well. At this point, the heat gets increased and a mixture of cornstarch and water, as well as a slightly beaten egg are added to finish off the sauce. This will quickly thicken the sauce and give it a velvety texture. Now, let me just say, this recipe concludes with a line "Eat with your fingers..." We did have to do that because of the hardness of the claws, and the need to use a nutcracker to get at the meat but it certainly wasn't a clean process. The sauce was thick and gooey, which was delicious, but I think we went through a roll of paper towels! If I made this again, I would most certainly take the meat out of the claws before adding it back to the wok. Aesthetically, it was a prettier plate with the shells. Logically, not so much.

The third part of this "menu" was supposed to be a Champagne and Raspberry Gratin...but unfortunately, there were no raspberries at the store yesterday. I'll keep my eye out for them because I would like, at some point, to complete this menu. Besides, doesn't that dessert sound decadent?