If you’ve ever had the privilege of attending a 10-course Chinese Wedding Banquet meal, you know what Cantonese ginger scallion lobster looks and tastes like. It is one of my favorite courses at a Chinese banquet, and one of the best ways to enjoy fresh lobster. Ginger scallion lobster is usually served as the sixth dish in a 10-course meal, so make sure you pace yourself at your next banquet! Though we know from experience that even after a platter of cold meats and jellyfish, mayonnaise shrimp with candied walnuts, roasted chicken, steamed fish, and abalone with bok choy that when the lobster rolls around, you MAKE room. Next time you get invited to a Chinese wedding, don’t hesitate to accept the invitation.
The lobsters used in this Cantonese ginger scallion lobster dish are often cold water lobsters from Maine or Boston. It seems to me that most Americans think of Maine when they think lobster, but many Chinese in Beijing know Boston as the place where the best cold water lobsters come from. Ultimately, the entire New England region has a lock on these tasty crustaceans.
December is generally the last month of the lobster season, but it’s also one of the best times of year for it. They’re usually widely available at local supermarkets and sometimes even on sale.
Processing live lobsters isn’t for everyone; it can be a bit of a daunting task if you’ve never done it before. If you’re willing to give it a go, however, we’ve provided some step-by-step instructions. If you’re still not comfortable with it, you can make this recipe with just frozen lobster tails or have the fish monger process the lobster so you can the the claws and the lobster tail.
Be sure to check out our other tasty scallion ginger crustacean recipes like Ginger Scallion Shrimp and Scallion Ginger Cantonese Crab!
Cantonese Ginger Scallion Lobster: Recipe Instructions
The steps to preparing a live lobster are as follows:
- Put the lobsters in the freezer for 10 minutes. This puts slows their metabolism, de-sensitizes them, and makes them easier to handle.
- 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.
- Cut or twist off the lobster claws, and cut off the smaller legs. Set those aside.
5. 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/tamale, use it in another dish, or include it in this dish. We left it out (some people don’t like the strong flavor).
6. 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.
7. Separate the elbow joint from the claws and split each claw with a cleaver (using a mallet may help). Make sure that you split the claw with the light color side up as this light color side tends to be more porous and less slippery than the dark side.
Cooking the Lobster
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 to 400 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 shaoxing 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!
That’s Ginger Scallion Lobster!
We know this is a bit of a challenging recipe. Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments if you have any questions!
Cantonese-Style Ginger Scallion Lobster
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
Instructions
- Put the lobsters in the freezer for 10 minutes. This puts slows their metabolism, de-sensitizes them, and makes them easier to handle.
- 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. Cut or twist off the lobster claws, and cut off the smaller legs. Set those aside.
- 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!
Just made this today, and no joke, was *so* close to licking the wok clean. It was a perfect recipe.
HI Sam, happy to hear you enjoyed our ginger scallion lobster recipe!
Where is that clever from? I am in the market for a new one.
Hi Lily, I think I purchased that stainless steel cleaver at an Asian grocery store but don’t actually recall where or which one.
Similar to another reviewer, I doubled the sugar and added a mix of 1tsp flour/1 tsp cornstarch slurry to make a bit of a thicker sauce. The whole family thought the dish was AMAZING! Highly recommend.
How fabulous! This is a great dish, a real treat :-)
Thank you for the ginger and spring onion recipe, I absolutely enjoyed ,all the flavours ,I definitely recommend your recipe to all your viewers excellent
Hi Bill! I am cantonese, and wondering where the Yee Mein can be found that typically sits under the lobster? We order this dish during Chinese New Year and Im obsessed!
Hi Tracy, you can find Yee Mein (sold in a box) at your local Asian market. Please have a look.
While I really like this recipe, there are minor tweaks I’ve added on my end. First, I added a tad bit more rice wine which really brings the fragrance to another level. Second, I doubled the amount of sugar that’s called for. Last, I added about a half cup of 1/1 flour and corn starch mix when you stir fry the ginger and scallions. This makes a variation that (while not as healthy), more closely matches what I am used to in Chinese weddings. I think this recipe is very good though and is definitely a healthier variation of one of my favorite Chinese dishes.
Hello Bill,
Writing this while trying to do a base stock from leftover lobster carcass.
I wanted to try this one since last year but had to wait for mother’s day special (in Quebec it’s the start of season) to be able to have a more reasonable price on lobster!
I bought a new outdoor high pressure / hight heat and it’s only the second time I use it, adding to thr challlenge. It has a flame gard wich make it more fun / safe to cook with compared to one I was using last year. I hope to use it more this summer and improve my wok skills!
It works very well but I still have to master it and I realised that I will have to adjust heat / timing a bit. Some pieces seemed slightly overcooked. But it was really good and I will do it / practice again before lobster returns to it’s “normal” prices…
Another intimidating part for me was the cutting, it’s actually the first time I cut live / raw lobster (always used boiling before). I got surprised when the lobster had a nerve jerk reaction! I will have to reread / practice, I was not able to salvage the heads for final presentation and also forgot to remove the gills.
My other error was cutting the green onions in smaller pieces, so I now know why it would be better with larger pieces!
Thanks for the great tutorial / recipe!
Eric
You are so welcome! You did good for your 1st try :-)