Maine Lobster Chef of the Year Finalist Joshua Clark
Chef Joshua Clark created one of the most memorable dishes of 
this
year's Maine Lobster Chef of the Year
competition: Hot & Sour
Lobster Tail. Displaying bravado and chutzpah, Clark - Chef de
Cuisine at Atlantica Restaurant in Camden - dared to invent a dish that
would "cook itself." Lobsters were briefly blanched,
cooled in an ice bath, and then finished in a hot, flavorful
broth of orange juice, ginger, Thai chiles, and Szechuan peppercorns. The result: a
slurpy, zesty lobster experience.
Hot & Sour Lobster Tail
Plate
1½ - 2 pounds live lobster
1 ounce Daikon Radish, julienned
1 ounce baby bok choy chiffonade
2 scallions, greens only
½ ounce watercress
½ ounce dried red chile chiffonade
1 ounce sushi ginger
Broth
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup honey
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 Thai chiles
Szechuan peppercorns and salt to taste
Lobster Procedure
Blanch lobster in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, shock in ice bath immediately.
Remove tail portion and reserve remainder of lobster for other uses.
Carefully, using kitchen shears, cut shell away from tail meat.
Technique
Carefully bundle radish, bok choy, and scallion together.
Wrap bundle and vegetable bundle in center of large bowl.
Place lobster and vegetable bundle in center of large bowl.
Arrange supremes and sushi ginger around and add chiffonade chile on top.
Broth
Combine all ingredients in small saucepot.
Bring to a simmer, reduce by half.
Strain and return to boil
Pour boiling broth over lobster bundle.
Stir with chopsticks and eat.
Serves 1
Notes
Be sure that the broth is boiling as it will completely cook the lobster, and that the serving bowl is hot.
Split lobster meat from the underside.
Cut tail into strips lengthwise, careful not to go all the way to the end.
Repeat with all pieces of the tail, until you have 5-6 long "noodles."
Hot & Sour Lobster Tail, before Broth was added
From the staff at Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine.
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