lobster yi mein

priscilla made this dish for the premier night of the amazing food challenge, which aired on the asian food channel. the whole family thought it was such a grand gesture, since making this dish is no simple task. lobster yi mein is a classic item served as the last course in every chinese banquet, especially at weddings.

yi mein is a cantonese style egg noodle that’s deep fried and sold as dried noodle in the form of circular bricks. it usually comes in either large or small size. we were told by the vendor that one small brick cooks down to one small bowl of noodle. so don’t be deceived by the size of the yi mein in its dry state. we cooked 3 yi mein noodles, which was enough for the 4 of us that night. plus we had other dishes on the table. yi mein, like most noodles, is not yummo the next day as it tends to get soggy.

below may seem like a lot of steps, but the end result is well worth the work. the noodle acts like a sponge. it absorbs the umami flavor from the shiitake mushrooms and the sweetness from the lobster. this probably is one of our favorite noodle dishes.

lobster 1-1.5 lb
yi mein 3 small circular bricks
white stems of spring onion 5 pieces, cut 2 inch long
ginger 4 thin slices
dried shiitake mushroom 5 small pieces
salt 1/2 teaspoon
soy sauce 1tbsp
white pepper 1 pinch
chicken stock 1 cup
cornstarch about 1/2 cup for coating the lobster
oil for frying

soak the mushrooms in 1 cup of water, until soft, around 1 hr
thinly slice the mushrooms, put aside
create a sauce by mixing together the salt, soy sauce, white pepper, and chicken stock, put aside

kill the lobster by splitting its head with a knife down lengthwise
separate the body from the head by twisting it, remove any innards
chop the head into quarters and the body into 1 inch pieces
using the back of the knife, gently crack the lobster claws
pat the lobster pieces dry with a paper towel
dust the lobster pieces generously with cornflour on a plate
in a pot of hot oil, lightly fry the lobster pieces to seal the flavour, around 1 min for the claws and 30 sec for the other parts
set the lobster aside on a plate

in a pot, cook the yi mein in boiling water to remove the excess oil, until soft, around 30 sec
cool the yi mein under cold running water, strain and put aside
in a hot wok with 2 tbsp of oil, stir fry the ginger and spring onions until the aroma is released, about 1 min
remove the ginger, but leave the spring onions in the wok
add the shiitake mushrooms and the sauce (made earlier), bring to a boil
then add the yi mein and the lobster pieces, stir well
cover with a lid, and let it simmer for 1 min