Black bean dressed lobster

By: Ching-He Huang

Ingredients
    1 medium lobster, approx 500g, pre-boiled
    1 tbsp vegetable oil
    4 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
    2 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
    1 medium red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
    1 tbsp chinese fermented black beans, washed
    1 tbsp rice wine, or dry sherry
    250 ml hot vegetable stock
    1 tbsp light soy sauce
    1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
    1 tbsp cornflour
    3 tbsp cold water
    groundnut oil, for shallow frying
    3 x 50g nests mung bean noodles
    150 g asparagus
    4 spring onions, sliced lengthways into thin strips placed in iced water for curly garnish

Method
Using a large sharp knife, chop the lobster down the length in half. Pull off the claws, remove the dead man’s fingers behind the eyes, pull out the tail meat and reserve the shell for presentation.

Heat a wok with the vegetable oil over high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and black beans and stir for a few seconds. Pour in the rice wine and cook for a few seconds, add the hot stock, then season with light soy and dark soy sauce.

Combine the cornflour and cold water in a small bowl to make a paste and then pour into the sauce. Keep on a low heat.

Into another hot wok with groundnut oil heated to 180C, add three nests of mung bean noodles and fry until it has puffed up. Place on a serving plate.

Lightly blanche the asparagus spears, cool and cut into 2.5cm pieces and then add to the sauce along with the lobster meat and toss through.

Spoon the mixture into the lobster carcass and place on the bed of crispy mung bean noodles. Garnish the top with spring onion curls and serve immediately.