A shellfish kind of day

Down foodpath

Unlike many of the chefs who have a backstory of how they came into the industry, I don’t have any.

I just realised that I wanted to be part of the culinary world and I joined a school that taught me what I needed to know.

Soon enough, I realised that cooking was my forte and I should learn to get better at that. I was never into working at the front office or in the service section of the hotel industry.

Back in the day, you had to go to the library and read many books to get the information you’re looking for. With the Internet accessible to everyone, it’s so easy for everyone to get their information. The digital world has definitely made it easy for everyone today.

I never wanted to be an expert at only one cuisine. I wanted to know everything. I think my determination to learn whatever I could find helped me experiment.

I started off with Oriental cuisine but working with different chefs and kitchens gave me hands-on experience with other cuisines too.

But things have changed over the years. People who come to dine are moving away from the exotic meals and preferring home-styled food. The diners want to have local cuisine and chefs are striving to learn the authentic recipes to cater to their needs.

That’s probably why most chefs don’t have a life. Even if you aren’t working in the kitchen, you’re constantly thinking of different ingredients and how to use them, flavours that you can amalgamate and what more the customers want to enjoy. There’s never an ‘off’ button for us.

The recipe shared today is of Lobster in XO sauce. The sauce is easily available in the markets now but you can also make it at home. It’s made with roughly chopped dried seafood which includes scallops, fish and shrimp and later cooked with chilli peppers, onions and garlic.

It’s definitely a luxury item but it’s rich in flavour and gives the dish the oomph factor.

Chef Rayomund Pardiwalla
(Executive Chef, Gokulam Grand Hotel and Spa)

Lobster in XO Sauce

Ingredients

Dried shrimp, 140 g

Dried scallops, 140 g

Garlic cloves, 10

Quartered shallots, 140 g

Chopped ginger, 56 g

Chopped Thai red chilli peppers, 2 to 4

Vegetable oil, 2 cups

Minced Jinhua ham, 85 g

Dried Thai chillies, 3 to 5

Shaoxing wine, 1/2 cup

Chicken broth, 1 1/2 cups

Oyster sauce, 1/4 cup

Soy sauce, 2 tbsp

Brown sugar, 2 tbsp

Star anise, 2

Method

Place the shrimp and scallops in separate medium microwave-safe bowls and cover with at least 2-inches of boiling water. Set aside to soak for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 2 hours.

Alternatively, you can soak the shrimp and scallops in cold water overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain shrimp completely. Drain scallops, leaving 2 tbsp soaking water along with the scallops in the bowl. Cover bowl with a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high heat until scallops are tender and easily break apart when pinched between your fingers, about 3 minutes.

Drain scallops of the remaining liquid and transfer them to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse scallops 7 times, until just broken into thin strands, then transfer back to their original bowl.

Add shrimp to food processor and pulse 10 times, until coarsely chopped. Transfer shrimp back to their original bowl.

Finally, combine garlic, shallots, ginger, and Thai chilies in food processor bowl and pulse 12 to 15 times, until finely chopped but not puréed. Set mixture aside.

In a wok, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add ham and cook, stirring frequently until ham is crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add scallops to the wok and continue to cook, stirring frequently to separate strands, until scallops are lightly golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add shrimp and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until seafood is a deep golden colour, 7 to 10 minutes.

The oil in the wok will be very bubbly during this stage, making it difficult to see what is going on in the bottom of the pot, so you will need to occasionally use your spatula or a slotted spoon to pick a spoonful of the mixture up out of the oil to check its colour.

Add vegetable mixture to wok and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are golden brown and fond begins to form at the bottom of the wok, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add ground dried chillies and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Deglaze with Shaoxing wine, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the wok.

Stir in chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and star anise and continue to cook at a rapid simmer until mixture is thickened and most of the liquid has been absorbed into the sauce, leaving a thin layer of bubbling oil on the surface of the pot, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Once XO sauce has cooled, divide into jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Bring to room temperature before using.