Finger Lickin’ Good!

This is a laggard Christmas post. Yeah, yeah, I know, we are already into the third day of the New Year, and I’m still posting about the food we ate over Christmas… but, I do have a valid excuse you see. I have only just “rediscovered” some “missing” pictures which were in the other memory card and which I had clear forgotten about, and have only now just downloaded onto the PC.

This dish was a run-away favorite with family and friends. To borrow a line from the dear ol’ Colonel himself, it was decidedly finger lickin’ good! It’s a twist on the very famous food dish that Singapore can proudly call its own, and which has put Singapore on the International food map… the chilli crab. Or in our case, chilli lobster.

Singaporeans just love chilli crabs. It’s all in the gravy… that rich, thick, spicy, eggy gravy that is so shiokadeliciously good when eaten with mantou (steamed Chinese buns) or just chunks of crusty bread. The gravy is addictive. Once you start, it’s hard to stop. I used to think it was very difficult to replicate the same gravy at home, until an aunt passed on a recipe to me (not sure where she got it from). I think it tastes pretty authentic… as good as the restaurant version, if you ask me. Plus, and this is a big plus for me, the home-made version is minus the copious amounts of MSG, which leaves one’s throat slaked and thirsty for hours after the meal.

The recipe is very simple, though it may seem otherwise from looking at the final dish. And there is plenty of room to adjust the flavors to suit personal preferences.

The following quantities were enough for about 6 lobsters, chopped into small chunks instead of being served in full halves. (We were serving the dish buffet style, so it just made more sense to present the lobsters in manageable sized pieces, which can be easily eaten whilst trying to balance a plate on your lap!) Presentation-wise, it would probably have looked nicer if the lobsters had been kept “intact”.

18 slices ginger
6 cloves garlic
2 gently heaped tablespoons soy bean paste (tau cheong)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons chilli sauce
10 tablespoons tomato sauce (ketchup)
1 cup chicken stock
½ tablespoon tapioca or corn flour (optional)
½ cup water (optional)
chopped parsley
chopped green onions
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork

• In a food processor, blend together the first 3 ingredients, to form a paste, which is then sautéed in hot oil until it is fragrant. This rempah (spice mix) can be made in advance and refrigerated.
• To cook the lobster (or other crustaceans): saute the rempah in a little hot oil, before adding the crustaceans.
• When the crustaceans have changed color, add the seasonings: light soy sauce, sugar, chilli sauce and tomato sauce.
• Next, add the chicken stock (or water), and allow the crustaceans to cook through completely (do not overcook though).
• If the gravy is not thick enough, add some of the tapioca/cornflour solution (the ½ tablespoon starch dissolved in the additional ½ cup of water). Be sure to have the gravy at a rolling boil before adding the starch solution, and allow the gravy to come to a boil again after adding the thickening agent. I find I usually do not need this step, as the gravy is already at the right consistency.
• Stir in the parsley and green onions.
• Finally, bring the gravy to a boil again, and very quickly swirl in the 2 lightly beaten eggs. The idea is to create thin, long strands of egg running throughout the gravy. The keys to this are to have the gravy at a boil before adding the eggs and to stir continuously and quickly as soon as the eggs are added. Personally, I find it works very well to add the eggs, stir quickly to prevent the eggs from cooking into clumps, and then to remove the heat as soon as the eggs are semi-cooked and to continue stirring to allow the eggs to finish cooking in the residual heat. This helps to prevent unsightly chunks of eggs, and to create nice eggy strands throughout the gravy.

Notes:
• This gravy works great too with crabs (of course), crayfish, king prawns (with shell) and probably just about any other crustacean. I would imagine it would work equally well with mollusks like oysters and mussels, although I haven’t tried using these before.
• The dish can be made spicier or less so by adjusting the amount of chilli sauce and tomato sauce used.
• The taste of the dish can also vary somewhat depending on the brand of tomato sauce (and sometimes chilli sauce) being used. Certain brands of ketchup tend to be more sour, and this gets reflected in the dish. This can be compensated by adding more sugar.
• Certain brands of bean paste (tau cheong) may also be more salty than other brands, so some adjustments may be required in the amount of light soy sauce used.
• It would be preferable to use low sodium stock.
• Sometimes I add the smallest dash of dark soy sauce when I want the dish to look less red.

This gravy is so unbelievably delicious with mantou and bread! Yum!

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
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