Cantonese-style ginger scallion lobster
Though I'm working in streams for my dissertation, my background is in marine ecology. I was a scientific diver throughout undergrad, assisting in projects on eelgrass and kelp forest communities along the San Diego coast. |
I worked closely with Kira Withy-Allen, who studied the movement and habitat use of California spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus). We radio tagged lobsters to measure their home ranges inside and outside a marine reserve, conducted surveys to determine their daytime and nighttime habitat use, and tethered lobsters to measure habitat specific predation risk.
During the day, we collected lobsters by hand and brought them up to the surface. We attached "backpacks" (see below) that consisted of coated wire, a battery holder, super glue, and a radio tag. Even though they don't have claws, California spiny lobsters can do damage with their long, spiny antennae. My hands would end up covered in what felt like micro paper cuts.
During the day, we collected lobsters by hand and brought them up to the surface. We attached "backpacks" (see below) that consisted of coated wire, a battery holder, super glue, and a radio tag. Even though they don't have claws, California spiny lobsters can do damage with their long, spiny antennae. My hands would end up covered in what felt like micro paper cuts.
Since lobsters are nocturnal, a lot of our work was done at night. We'd leave the marine lab around 7 pm, boat to our field site, and watched the sunset as we ate dinner. Once the sun was gone, it was time to work. The lobsters we tagged the day prior were now roaming around the sea floor. Each lobster had a tag with a unique frequency, emitting a signal through the water column. A hydrophone is placed in the water and translates that signal into a pinging sound. When the sound was loud enough, we knew we were right on top of a lobster. We took its GPS location and circled around to find the next lobster. We collected data every hour from sunset to sunrise.
We wanted to know where the lobsters ended their nightly stroll, so we put on our wet wetsuits at 5 am and jumped in the water. Who needs coffee when you have the ocean to wake you up? We carried an underwater hydrophone, which looks like a radar gun with headphones attached (see below). Again, we listened for the pings to lead us to our lobsters. Once they were found, we noted the habitat they occupied and our work that night was done.
We wanted to know where the lobsters ended their nightly stroll, so we put on our wet wetsuits at 5 am and jumped in the water. Who needs coffee when you have the ocean to wake you up? We carried an underwater hydrophone, which looks like a radar gun with headphones attached (see below). Again, we listened for the pings to lead us to our lobsters. Once they were found, we noted the habitat they occupied and our work that night was done.
The most valuable skill I gained from this job is my ability to fall asleep anywhere. I never pulled all-nighters in college, and I don't drink coffee, so I was unprepared for the nocturnal lifestyle. My most impressive, albeit dangerous, act was falling asleep standing up on a moving boat. I'm pretty sure I'm remembered in this lab not by the work I helped with, but by the way I slept. It's a testament to my dedication to the job. I'll take it as a compliment.
Recipe
Recipe from Woks of Life
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 live lobsters (1 ¼ to 1 ½ pounds each)
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 cups oil (for flash deep frying; plus 2 tablespoons)
- 6 slices ginger
- 3 scallions (cut into 2-inch pieces)
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- Remove the head shell to dispatch the lobster. You can discard these, or trim them so that they can sit upright on the plate (if you want to keep them for presentation, which is what's done in most restaurants).
- Cut off the mouth portion of the lobster head with a cleaver or chef's knife.
- Remove and discard the lobster gills, which are inedible. Remove the green mustard, innards and the sand tract. Rinse all the lobster pieces under cold running water. You can discard the mustard, use it in another dish, or include it in this dish. We left it out (some people don't like the strong flavor).
- Split the lobster lengthwise from the head portion to the end of the tail, so you have two halves. Take each half and cut off the upper section, separating it from the tail portion (there's actually quite a bit of meat in that piece). Cut each tail half into 3 equal pieces, giving you 6 total tail meat pieces. You can adjust this according to the size of the lobster.
- Separate the elbow joint from the claws and split each claw with a cleaver (using a mallet may help).
- Let all of the lobster pieces drain of excess water after you rinse them and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Mix the flour and cornstarch in a shallow bowl, and lightly dredge the lobster pieces. Dredge only the exposed meat to seal in the juices.
- At this point, many restaurants deep fry the lobster in a large wok to quickly seal in the juices. This process only takes 20 seconds or so, but for home cooking, we'll use a smaller pot and fry in batches. This flash fry method cooks the lobster about 70% of the way through, enhances the lobster flavor, produces a rich color, and seals in the juices while preventing the tender meat from overcooking.
- Heat 2 cups of oil in a small pot to about 350 degrees F, and drop the lobster into the pot a couple pieces at a time for about 10 seconds. Remove to a sheet pan to drain. The shells should turn bright red almost instantly.
- To finish the dish, start with a clean wok over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil to the wok, along with the ginger. Let the ginger fry for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the white portions of the scallions and the lobster. Stir fry on for 20 seconds, keeping the heat cranked up as high as it'll go.
- Pour the wine around the perimeter of the wok and immediately cover it. Let it cook for about 2 minutes. This step infuses or "bakes" the lobster with the ginger and scallion flavor.
- Uncover the wok and add the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, and the rest of the scallions. Stir fry for another minute. You can add a couple tablespoons of water if the wok is too dry. Serve!