La Cucina di Kat: Spicy Seafood Sauce

Warning -- This recipe is so simple but your Guests will think you spent hours! Wipe your brow as your bring it to the table!

I make this in my wok and just add seafood to it. Usually it’s Lobster and Shrimp, but in the past I've also added crab or scallops and it’s great. You can shell the fish, but I usually add it all with the shell on. It looks beautiful when you present it although it’s kind of messy to eat, but fun! It has some pretty unusual ingredients in it that you just would not expect in a Chinese recipe! It’s kind of strange to find A-1 sauce in an Asian sauce, but I think it’s one of the ingredients that makes the difference. For a large appetizer for 4, I use 2 fresh steamed lobsters and about a dozen Jumbo shrimp.

Ingredients

1 cup Chicken stock
1 1/4 cup tomato catsup
½ cup Sherry
½ cup A-1 Steak sauce
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup of Chili Oil
(cut it down if you don’t like spicy hot!)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 thin slices of fresh ginger - minced
5 green onions chopped-½ inch pieces
Shellfish

Break the lobster apart and cut the tails into about 3 pieces each, crack the claws so the meat is more accessible, and add the tiny legs. Devein the shrimp, but leave the shell on…I keep the cleaned Lobster bodies for garnishing the dish.

Combine all your ingredients except for the green onions. Bring to a boil and then simmer until reduced about 1/3rd .(not too thick…but thicker than when you first added everything together) If you’re using fresh shimp, add them in raw and cook until pink (about 5 minutes) add in your cooked lobster and stir until everything is heated thoughout. (a couple of minutes) Just before serving, add in your green onions and toss with the seafood and serve! 

Seafood all prepped and ready to add to the sauce

**Additional Note**

For this dish I usually try to get the Lobster Steamed at the store but if you can’t do that…Plunge the Lobster head down into a very large pot holding several quarts of warm water, then put the cover on. Heat the water gradually to boiling and cook for about 25 minutes. (Scientists say that a lobster feels no pain if the water is heated gradually).

Chili oil can be made by infusing hot peppers in oil. This is a brand though that I find to be good and is readily available in the Asian section of most grocery stores...