Braised Lobster

Braised Lobster

　　Braised Lobster; Ingredients: 400g lobster (about 15–20 lobsters, currently about 5–7 RMB per jin), dark soy sauce, garlic, ginger, scallions, sugar, cooking wine, peanut oil, salt, chicken essence

Preparation of ingredients: slice garlic thinly, slice ginger thinly, cut scallions into long shreds.

Lobster preparation: Requires two people to purchase the lobsters. The first person holds the lobster by the back with one hand and the tail with the other; the second person uses a clean shoe brush to scrub the belly of the lobster where there is a lot of dirt. After scrubbing each one clean, place the lobster in a basin of water to rinse. Hold the lobster by the back with the left hand and gently twist off the two tail fins near the back with the right hand, then pull out the intestine attached to the fins. After cleaning and removing the intestines from each lobster, place them in clean water. Add 5 drops of peanut oil to the water surface and let sit for 5 minutes. Hold the lobster by the back, lift the shell, and if there is roe, leave the shell on; otherwise, remove the lobster’s head.

Parboiling the lobster: Bring half a pot of water to a boil, add the cleaned and gutted lobsters, and boil over high heat until the backs turn slightly yellow. Turn off the heat, remove the lobsters, and set aside to drain.

Braising: Clean the wok, add an appropriate amount of peanut oil (slightly more than usual), and heat. Add the drained lobsters and stir-fry over high heat for half a minute. Add 100ml of cooking wine, ginger slices, cover with a lid, and simmer over low heat until the aroma of the wine comes out.

Lift the lid, add vinegar, salt, sugar, and garlic slices; add an appropriate amount of dark soy sauce (to slightly darken the color of the lobster). Cover and simmer over low heat for half a minute, then add chicken essence, remove from heat, and plate. Sprinkle scallion shreds over the lobster. Serve.