Deep Fried Southern Rocklobster

1. Fried lobster lends itself to several cuisines Cajun, Mexican, Japanese and especially Cantonese. Rocklobster can be fried with or without the to equal acclaim. The Cantonese kitchen will cut the tail into sections, toss it through a very well seasoned mix of flour and corn flour, salt, pepper and finely chopped chilli, wok fry and serve with plenty of finely chopped chilli as a garnish. One of the reasons the Cantonese fried dishes are so fabulous is they use clean oil for each dish. Clean oil is the secret of great deep-fried dishes.

2. The frying process makes the lobster very rich, so portion size should be appropriate according to the other components included in the plated dish. We find a 100g (meat only) portion with embellishment is a perfect main course when in normal dining one would expect the customer to also order an appetiser and dessert. Fried lobster is best made with green lobster meat.

3. Leg, tail and horn meat are easily combined for dumplings with the addition of 10g of tapioca flour per 500g of meat. Stir the tapioca flour into the lobster pieces and wearing food service gloves combine the ingredients and allow to stand in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before proceeding.

4. For tail portions roll the lobster portions through Cajun or Mexican Chocolate dust or your preferred dust. For the dumplings drop your desired portion into the dust and flick it over with a fork to cover the other side or alternatively you may want to make them canapé size and use a light traditional Japanese tempura batter. If you want to make this dish suitable for coeliacs, certified maize (corn) flour can be used to replace the wheat flour.

5. Fry in clean hot oil until coloured and crisped on the edges, drain on paper towel. Main course portions should be rested under heat lamps for 3-5 minutes to finish the cooking process; entrée and canapés can be served immediately.

6. Plate, garnish and serve.