Top Recipe: Paul Qui's King Crab with Sunchoke Chips, Lobster Broth and Lemon Snow; Cocktail: "The Pan Am" (Kaffir Lime, Thai Chilis and Rum)

King Crab with Sunchoke Chips, Lobster Broth and Lemon Snow 

4 lobsters
2 pounds king crab
2 ounces pernod
1/2 cup fennel, small diced
1/2 cup onion, small diced
1/2 cup celery, small diced
1/2 cup carrot, small diced
1/2 cup tomato, small diced
1 tablespoon ground dried Thai chili
2 ounces Thai red curry paste
1 lemongrass stalk, minced
2 cups clarified butter
1/4 pound butter
1 cup coconut cream
100 grams tapioca maltodextrin
1 grams lemon essential oil
10 grams grape seed oil
1/2 cup sunchokes
Crème fraiche, as needed
2 lemons, zested and juiced
Olive oil, as needed
Salt, to taste
Arugula, garnish

While alive, split the lobsters into heads and tails. Split the heads in half and rip off the knuckles and claws. Steam the claws for 6 minutes and the tails for 5 minutes. Shock in ice water, shell and cut into bite size pieces. Reserve. Clean king crab, cut into bite size pieces and reserve. Once ready to plate, warm king crab and lobster in 1 cup of clarified butter. Rip the crown off the head and scrape the gills of with a spoon. Cut the lobster bodies into 8 pieces and place under running water until the water runs clear. Once the lobster bodies are flushed, strain off excess water and shake dry.

In a rondeau roast lobster bodies on med/high in 1 cup clarified butter until golden brown and caramelized. Remove lobster bodies and strain off excess butter.

Deglaze with pernod and scrape rondeau. Add excess butter back in and saute red curry and dried Thai chilis in clarified butter on medium. Add vegetables and cook until soft. Once all the vegetable are really soft almost mush, add the lobster bodies back in the rondeau and fill with water until the bodies are completely submerged. Simmer for 2.5 hours, add lemongrass in the last 30 minutes. Season to taste. Blend the stock with the lobster shells, mirapoix, whole butter and coconut cream and strain thorough a chinois. Keep hot and reserve.

Cut sunchokes on a mandolin into chip size thickness and fry in oil at 300 degrees Fahrneheit until crispy.

Dilute 1 gram of lemon essential oil into 10 grams of grapeseed oil. Mix in 100 grams of tapioca maltodextrin and season with salt to taste. Freeze in liquid nitrogen to make ‘snow.’

Finish:
Place a swoop of crème fraiche in a bowl. Place 2 pieces of crab and 2 pieces of lobster in a bowl. Place a few pieces of arugula and a stack of sunchoke chips. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Place lemon ‘snow’ in the bowl and serve. Pour lobster broth table side.

Pan Am Cocktail
1 quart water
1 quart sugar
2 ounces kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk of lemongrass
1 ounce ginger
2 ounces Thai chilies
(1 part) light rum
(1 part) lime juice
5 grams versawhip

Combine all the ingredients (except versawhip) in a pot and bring to a simmer, until sugar dissolves.

For foam, Take 1 quart of syrup and whip in a kitchen aid with 5 grams of versawhip until shaving foam consistency.

© 2012 PAUL QUI

Posted on AllTopChef.com