Lobster cantonese #1

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 (1.5-2 pound) lobster
¼ pounds Lean pork (up to)
2 Cloves garlic (up to)
4 tablespoons Oil
½ teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Soy sauce
½ cup Stock
2 Eggs
¼ cup Water
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
3 tablespoons Water

Directions

1. With a cleaver, chop lobster lengthwise in half; then clean. Chop each half, shell and all, in 1-½ inch sections. Chop claws in two.

2. Mince or grind pork. Crush garlic.

3. Heat oil. Add salt, then garlic, and brown lightly. Add pork and stir-fry until it loses its pinkness (1 to 2 minutes). Sprinkle with soy sauce; stir-fry, ½ minute more.

4. Add lobster sections; stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in stock and heat quickly.

Then cook, covered, over medium heat, until done (about 3 minutes): the meat should be chalky white; the shell bright red.

5. Meanwhile, in one cup, beat eggs lightly with water and set aside. In another cup, blend cornstarch and remaining water to a paste.

6. Stir in cornstarch paste to thicken; then turn off heat and stir in beaten eggs until creamy. (Turning off the heat helps retain the egg's rich yellow color and makes for a smooth-flowing sauce; it prevents the egg from overcooking, coagulating and turning white.) Serve at once.

NOTE: For best results, start with a live lobster. VARIATIONS: 1. For the lobster, substitute 6 crabs. Shell, crack claws, discard feet.

Chop each crab in 4 Pieces.

2. In step 3, omit the salt and garlic clove. Mash 1 tablespoon fermented black beans (soaked) with 1 clove garlic, minced, and add to the hot oil.

(You may also at this point add 1 slice fresh ginger root, minced; and/or a few drops of sesame oil.) Stir-fry a few times to heat; then add minced pork.

3. In step 4, before adding the stock, sprinkle lobster with ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon sugar, a dash of pepper and 1 teaspoon sherry. Stir-fry a few times to blend in.

4. In step 4, substitute for the stock a mixture of 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sherry, ¼ cup water, ½ teaspoon sugar and 1 slice fresh ginger root, minced.

5. In step 5, add to the cornstarch paste ¼ teaspoon sugar and 2 teaspoons soy sauce.

6. In step 6, add with the beaten eggs 1 scallion stalk, minced.

From <The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook>, ISBN 0-517-65870-4. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, .

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