February's Winning Dish: Fiery Lobster
February's winner of my He Can Cook Cooking Challenge is Victoria Hutchinson for her Fiery Lobster. She makes some incredible dishes and you can follow her on Instagram at @victoriasnoms. She was kind enough to share her recipe with us. Check it out and be sure to let her know what you think! So without further ado, here it is in her very own words...
My Fiery Lobster is adapted from a Vietnamese dish called "Tom Hum Xao". It's not often you'll see this dish at a restaurant, as it's mostly reserved for special occasions like weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations. I savored this dish for the first time when my stepmom made it for my sister's graduation party. Not only did she graduate from San Jose University, but she did so after learning English as a second language in just a few years! Now, Fiery Lobster has become my go-to dish for special occasions.
P.S. My son certainly approved the smell and looks of Fiery Lobster. He'll have to wait a little while before he can taste it though. It might be a smidgeon too spicy for him right now.
INGREDIENTS
5 pounds lobster, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons oyster-flavored sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons cooking wine
1/2 cup ginger, peeled and finely julienne
6 green onions, cut into 2” sections
2 Thai chilis, sliced
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
Fresh ground black pepper
Lime, cut into wedges
Jasmine rice, cooked
DIRECTIONS
Rinse the lobster under cold water and pat dry.
In a bowl, mix together the oyster-flavored sauce and fish sauce.
Add 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a wok on high heat.
When the oil is hot, add garlic and onion. Sauté for 10-20 seconds.
Add the lobster claws to the wok first, since they take longer to cook through their shell.
Add 1 tablespoon of the oyster sauce and fish sauce mixture.
Stir and then cover the wok for approximately 2 minutes.
Stir and then add the remaining lobster. Pour in the rest of the oyster sauce and stir. Flip the lobster pieces so that they can cook on all sides.
Add the chicken broth and stir. Flip the lobster pieces as needed.
Cover the wok for another 2 minutes.
Check the lobster to see that all pieces have turned bright red. If not, push those pieces down into the center of the wok and continue cooking with the lid off.
Add sugar, cooking wine, ginger, green onions, Thai chilis, and chili garlic sauce.
Stir until all the lobster has been fully cooked.
Sprinkle with black pepper, then drizzle with a wedge or two of lime.
Serve with hot rice, adding a ladle of the lobster broth on top.
NOTES
This dish is best with fresh lobster. If you’re like me, you’ll probably want to have the seafood department pre-cut the lobster for you, then run home and cook as soon as possible.
Obviously, this dish is hot (duh, fiery). Adjust the Thai chilis and chili garlic sauce to your level of wimpiness. However, you'll want to have some spicy, as it's the sweet and spicy that is signature to this dish.