Smoked Lobster with Chinese Noodle Cake and Tarragon Butter
All sorts of wonderful flavors and textures are combined in this deceptively simple dish. Smoking the lobster enhances the natural affinity of lobster, butter, and tarragon. The lobster is accompanied by crisp noodle cake wedges.
Ingredients
- Tarragon Butter
- Unsalted Butter - 1 pound
- Tarragon Sprigs - 1, bruised
- Lobster - two, 1-1/2 pound, steamed or boiled
- Baby Zucchini - 4
- Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
- Chinese Noodle Cake
- Soba Noodles - 2 cups, cooked
- Egg - 1
- Sesame Oil - 1 tablespoon
- Scallion - 1, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
Instructions
To prepare the butter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the tarragon and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes. The butter may be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use.
To prepare the lobster: Set aside 1 cup of tarragon butter for sauce. Heat a charcoal grill until the coals are covered with light ash. Twist the tail and claws from the lobster bodies. Take the lobster tail and claw meat out of the shells. Clean the shells and spread with some of the remaining tarragon butter. Remove the black strip from the tail meat and cut the tail meat into medallions. Put the tail meat back into the tail shells. Remove the shell extension inside the claw meat. Put the claw meat into the head shells. Spread tarragon butter over the meat. Put the filled lobster shells on the grill and surround with herbs de province. Cover with a large heatproof bowl and pour hot water over the bowl to create steam. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and set aside; keep warm.
Brush the baby zucchini with olive oil and place on the grill over hot coals. Season with salt and pepper. Grill for 4 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally to leave grill marks on the skin. Remove and set aside; keep warm.
To make the noodle cake: Preheat the oven to 450 F. Put the noodles in a bowl. Mix in the egg, sesame oil, and scallions with your hands. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a small ovenproof saute pan over medium-high heat until hot. Melt the butter in the pan and coat all surfaces in the pan, then add the noodles, pressing them into a cake. Cook until the cake is browned on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the cake, then place in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes, until browned. Remove from the oven and let rest 2 minutes.
To serve: Warm the reserved tarragon butter. Cut the noodle cake into four wedges. Put two wedges on each warmed serving plate, points touching. Arrange the lobster meat beside the noodle cake slices. Cut the zucchini in narrow vertical slices, leaving them attached at the stem end; fan a zucchini over the wedges of noodle cake on each plate. Whisk the butter sauce and spoon over the lobster meat.
