CHARGRILLED LOBSTER WITH VIETNAMESE SATE SAUCE

COMPLIMENTARY RECIPE

"Vietnamese sate sauce is one of the best sauces you can serve with lobster. Don’t mistake it for the Indonesian satay peanut sauce; it’s completely different. Vietnamese sate sauce is made from slowly cooking a variety of dried shrimp and seafood with long green shallot, garlic, dried chilli and chilli oil." - Chef Luke Nguyen

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

Fresh lobster
Sate sauce (see note)
100 g dried shrimp
2 cups (500 ml) vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, crushed
10 long green shallots, white part only, thinly sliced (reserve green part, thinly sliced, to serve)
¼ tsp chilli flakes
200g fresh crab meat (we used blue swimmer crab)
2 tsp caster sugar
1 tbs oyster sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
100ml chilli oil

METHOD

To make the sate sauce, soak dried shrimp in 1 cup (250 ml) water for 20 minutes, then drain and set aside. Heat oil in a small wok over medium heat. Add garlic and white shallot and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add chilli, crab meat, shrimp, sugar and sauces. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes, or until shrimp begins to slightly break down. Stir in chilli oil and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until combined.

Place lobsters in the freezer for 1 hour, or until they are ‘asleep’ and not moving. Turn lobsters, belly-side up, on a chopping board. Using a large, sharp knife, slice lobsters in half lengthways, and remove and discard the digestive tract.

Preheat a lightly greased barbecue flat plate or chargrill pan to high. Cook lobster, cut-side down, for 5-7 minutes, until meat is golden. Turn, then cook for a further 7 minutes, basting with sate sauce occasionally, or until lobster is cooked and flesh is firm and opaque.

Transfer lobster to a serving plate, cut-side up. Spoon over remaining sate sauce and scatter with reserved sliced green shallot and lemon wedges, to serve.

Note: Instead of lobster, you can also use Moreton Bay bugs or large king prawns, or even a mud crab. The sate sauce makes approximately 600ml. You can also use it as a dipping sauce, or add it to stir-fries. It can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.