Seafood dishes sometimes need that added flavor to highlight the taste, and lobster sauce is that special ingredient that makes an ordinary recipe great. You might have seen lobster sauce on a menu or in a recipe and wondered, is it made from lobster?
The lobster sauce itself does not have lobster in it. Chinese-restaurant owners in North America created this recipe after seasoning stir-fries for lobster. The color ranges from white and brown to yellow, depending on the quantity of soy sauce used, and preparation differs from place to place.
Famous for its unique taste, lobster sauce highlights any seafood dish. The flavor adds to shellfish, and other seafood recipes, making it a must if you want to enhance your cooking. So if the lobster sauce does not contain lobster, what is a lobster sauce made of?
What Does Lobster Sauce Have In It?
First, a little history about lobster sauce origin. Chinese-restaurant owners developed a seasoning for stir-fry made from green onions, ginger, and soy sauce. Later on, this stir-fry seasoning became a sauce for lobster. Since then, the lobster sauce has evolved with other ingredients added to improve its taste.
Just as spaghetti sauce does not have spaghetti, the lobster sauce does not have lobster. It is called lobster sauce because it is made to add to a lobster dish to enrich its flavor and aroma. The lobster sauce in Chinese cooking is based on meat stock, as opposed to soy sauce, and it has a mild flavor. It can be confusing, but a breakdown of the ingredients in lobster sauce will give you a better understanding.
The lobster sauce contains chicken broth, green onions, eggs, ginger, fermented black beans, and garlic. Other lobster sauce recipes include pork mince and soy sauce thickened with starch. Some other ingredients added are carrots, corn, and fresh peas. Lobster sauce colors vary from pale white and yellow to brown because, in some recipes, more soy sauce is added, which darkens the color.
Certain sauces are used in place of lobster sauce, such as garlic butter sauce, but they should not be mistaken for the original recipe. The sauce known as “lobster sauce” was made exclusively for lobster with unique ingredients. Not to say that other sauces are not delicious and may pair well with lobster, but the lobster sauce, when it was first prepared as Cantonese cuisine, is distinct from other sauces.
Lobster comes with a hefty price tag, and just mentioning lobster sauce elevates a seafood dish because most people assume it includes lobster. Often the confusion is because of the name “lobster sauce” and the idea that it is a sauce made from lobster. Surprisingly it has no lobster, and the plain ingredients found in lobster sauce should not downplay this fabulous sauce.
What Dishes Does Lobster Sauce Compliment?
Originally lobster was served with lobster sauce, but the scarcity of lobster made it difficult for restaurant owners to keep it on the menu. There was no scarcity of shrimp, and serving shrimp with lobster sauce became the alternative, so restaurants created shrimp with lobster sauce.
Lobster sauce compliment just about any shellfish like lobster and shrimp, as mentioned above, but recently restaurant owners added crab with lobster sauce to the menu. Crab has a sweeter taste and is more flaky than lobster but has a seafood flavor similar to lobster. Lobster sauce not only compliments crab but adds such a brilliant flavor that you may think it was created for crab.
Although it is occasionally overlooked to add lobster sauce to fish, a well-seasoned lobster sauce mixes the richness of green onions, ginger, and soy sauce with the fresh ocean flavor. Even though the lobster sauce is mild, it can change something as basic as a fish fillet into something extraordinary. One example is Burbot, a white-fleshed fish known as “Poor Man’s Lobster.”
You can use the lobster sauce in a wide range of dishes and many different recipes. With the addition of lobster, crab, shrimp, and lobster sauce, along with pasta, rice, and other side dishes, seafood recipes can take on an infinite variety of flavors. The same fundamental components are utilized in all lobster sauce recipes, even though each has a distinct flavor profile.
Sauces That Go Well With Lobster
One of those delicacies, lobster, can be enjoyed independently without anything added to enhance the flavor. Lobster naturally brings out all the wonderful sea flavors without additional ingredients. Typically, lobster sauce is the first option, but did you know there are other sauces worth considering?
A fantastic sauce to serve with lobster is garlic butter. A fantastic substitute sauce for lobster combines the richness of garlic with the smooth flavor of butter. Do not limit yourself to using only garlic; additional herbs and spices, such as fresh lemon juice, ginger, or chili pepper, can be used in place of garlic to change the richness of your sauce.
If you do not want to cover your lobster with sauce, you may easily prepare lobster thermidor sauce at home as a dipping sauce. All you need to make lobster thermidor sauce is cream, cheese, parsley, pepper, and other herbs and spices. This simple combination is easy to make and gives a lovely texture to lobster.
Although wine lobster sauce adds a delightful punch that elevates lobster even further, it is key that it not be too strong. Lobster tastes best when prepared with butter that gives a lovely, silky basis, along with some honey, garlic, herbs and spices, and your preferred white wine. The next time you eat lobster, give it a try; you will be glad you did.
The most popular sauce to use with lobster will always be lobster sauce, but experimenting with other sauces and flavors can be a delightful variation. It would be best if you dabbled with herbs and spices, the sauces described above are ideal starting points. Enjoy your homemade lobster sauce by dipping your lobster in a sauce made of cheese and cream.
Conclusion
Many people believe lobster is in lobster sauce, a popular misconception. Actually, the lobster sauce is a condiment for lobster, not a sauce containing lobster. Its ingredients, with a few exceptions, include chicken broth, green onions, eggs, ginger, fermented black beans, garlic, and no lobster.
Lobster sauce sometimes contains pork mince and soy sauce thickened with starch. Other sauces that complement lobster, like garlic butter, Thermidor dipping sauce and wine lobster sauce, should not be confused with the original sauce. Lobster sauce, first made by the Chinese for Cantonese cuisine, is the original recipe and a fabulous sauce with no lobster.
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobster_sauce
- https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/fillet-of-brill-recipe
- https://www.tasteatlas.com/lobster-sauce
- https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=137
