Rock Lobster Tacos:
So kids, I finally made Rock Lobster Tacos. And by finally I mean that I made them two weeks ago and haven’t gotten around to writing about them. Sowwy. And they were amazing! First I should note that I used frozen lobster. A. it’s cheaper B. I figure since I’m going to drown it in batter and hot oil I can go ahead, save some pennies and buy frozen. I should also note that Nobu (despite having amazing sushi) sucks. Why? Because I decided to use their batter recipe via Martha Stewart and it was awful. I should have known better, and I make good batter on my own but my stupid, gotta try newer better things attitude led me to believe that this would be a worthwhile endeavor. Yeah it wasn’t.
See here is the issue: Tempura Batter typically uses sparkling water. This makes the batter light and crispy. I know this. I choose to ignore this just to say to my diners “haha…the recipe is from Nobu” like a pompous ass. Well it was no good using just cold water as the recipe called for so I salvaged the wreck with a can of seltzer I was very happy I had lying around. Moral of the Story: If it ain’t broke. (make a note that I said the exact same thing last time I made Macaroons. The second moral of the story: I clearly have an undiagnosed learning disability)
Here is the recipe:
-Heat oil. I used Veggie oil and heated it in an electric fry pan to about 375 degrees. The recipe said I should heat until it was 355 but I found this was not warm enough and my batter didn’t brown. My suggestion is to heat it to about 350-375 and adjust accordingly. It’s easier to heat something up then cool it down.
Mix tempura Batter (1 cup All-purpose Flour, 1 egg,, ¾ cup (or more as necessary) seltzer) whisk together batter, it should be the more watery then pancake batter but similar.
-Set up a shallow bowl of flour, the batter and a plate with a lining of paper towel to place your finished products.
-Start with a “tester” piece of tempura. I also made tempura vegetables (onions, broccoli and sweet potato) but even if you don’t I’d suggest maybe cutting up an onion (into 1” slices and then separate) and using that at this stage. They are tasty, plus if your set-up needs adjustment you won’t be quite as sad to waste a few slices of onion then you would wasting a piece of lobster. This way you can also make sure when you do add the fish, it comes out the best it can.
-Dredge tester onion slice in the flour, then in the batter. Lift it out with a fork or tongs and let excess drain off. Place in oil. The tempura should take maybe 3 minutes a side to lightly brown. If it does not brown, turn up the heat a little at a time until it does. Also, adjust batter if it needs it (ie too thick and the tempura is coming out “doughy” add more seltzer etc)
-Once ready, cook lobster (as you did onions) about 3 mins each side until it is golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Serve in soft tortilla with honey mustard (to make literally combine honey and mustard to taste) spring greens, mango salsa and the lobster.
Ps. Here are some tips about keeping your deep-frying more healthy by not over “oiling” your food
-Mango salsa: finely chop 1 white onion, 1 jalapeño (remove seeds if you don’t like too much heat), 1 mango, and a handful of cilantro. Toss with juice of 1 lime, salt and pepper. (note: the longer it sits the better it tastes)
This is best served warm on a warm day and pairs famously with a Landshark and a "I don't give a rat's ass about nothin" attitude. Enjoy!!
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