Wok the Lobster in Salty Black Beans, Chilli and Ginger

Serves 2

My good friend Ian Parmenter cooked this dish for me once and I love it. I've created my own version based on that memory.

Recipe and image from Homemade: simply delicious food by Anna Gare, published by Fremantle Press.
Photographer Robert Frith.

Ingredients

• 2 uncooked lobster tails, cleaned and deveined, with shells intact
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 red chillies, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
• 3 coriander roots, finely chopped
• 150 g Asian shallots, peeled and finely diced
• 20 basil leaves
• 1 x 180 g can salted (fermented) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 100 g coriander leaves and stems, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• crispy shallots (available at Asian groceries and most good supermarkets) for garnish



Cooking Instructions

1. 1

   Use a very sharp, heavy knife to cut each lobster tail into 3 or 4 sections about 3 cm long. (The segments in the shell are a good guide to where the tail should be cut.) Set the lobster pieces aside.

1. 2

   Heat the oil in a wok and add the chilli, garlic, ginger, coriander roots and shallots. Fry them on a low heat for about 1 minute to infuse the flavours, being careful not to burn them.

1. 3

   Add the lobster segments, coat them in the aromatics and fry them for 2 minutes on each side.

1. 4

   Add the basil and black beans and cook for about 2 minutes.

1. 5

   Just before serving, toss in the coriander and lime juice and continue cooking until the lobster segments are cooked through. (The flesh will appear opaque when the lobster is cooked.)

1. 6

   Serve with rice and crispy shallots. This recipe works beautifully with my coconut rice