Cantonese Lobster Salad

​Mmmmmm lobster. *drools* I thought I'd share a recipe that is near and dear to my heart, Cantonese Lobster Salad! Now, it's really not quite...a true "salad" per se...as it's really not healthy for you whatsoever given the ingredients. Well except for the fruit. That makes me feel a little less guilty after eating a few bowls of it.

Did you know? Lobster used to be served as prison food in the early colonies and it wasn't until the early 1900s that it became popular. I'm so glad that humanity found a way to cook it and turn it into something delicious! To learn more about the history and how lobster turned into a delicacy, read this article by Matt Hershberger at Eat Sip Trip.

While I don't remember exactly when or how I first experienced eating lobster, I do remember it always being a special treat associated with my parents. My father would sometimes buy lobster and crab at the local market and steam it for us at home to eat. We'd dip it in butter as per the ol' American way, or my mom would make this delicious, garlic and vinegar soy sauce to dip lobster (or crab) in. Other times, the parents would bring back takeout from the city after work, typically a Cantonese style stir fried lobster with ginger and scallion, and we'd snack on the tasty morsels together at night.

Some of my favorite lobster memories though, involved Cantonese lobster salad. The lobster salad would come out on a large platter, on top of a bed of lettuce or sliced orange garnish. Cantonese style lobster salad is a mayo based salad with assorted fruit and lobster. It's a simple dish but incredibly nostalgic, yummy and refreshing as it's served cold. We typically enjoyed it as one of the starter dishes to a Chinese banquet--usually a special occasion like a wedding or family reunion of some sort, so always a happy memory for me. 

Sometimes we add potato or boiled egg to add more substance to the "salad", but it's just fine without as well, and is more "light." Some people like to use a mixture of sour cream and mayo, but since we're "trying" to be healthy, I've subbed greek yogurt instead. It really tastes very similar, and if anything, it makes everything so much more creamy and yummy.

INGREDIENTS:
• 2 cups lobster meat (freshly steamed and shells removed)
• 1 cup cantaloupe chunks
• 1 cup seedless green grapes
• 1 cup canned longan fruit (fresh is great if you have it available)
• 1 cup Korean pear chunks
• 1/2 cup light mayo
• 1/2 cup kewpie mayo
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 tablespoon honey
• salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. MIX ALL THE THINGS! DONE. (well, steam the lobster, de-shell it and chop into bite size pieces. Wash and cut all your fruit into bite sized pieces.)
2. EAT ALL THE THINGS! DONE.

Honestly it's the most simple recipe, ever. As are most salads, I should hope. After the initial prepwork, just put all of it in to a bowl, mix and season to taste.

Make sure the lobster you are using is steamed and removed from the shell. To steam, about 8 minutes for 3/4 to 1 pound lobsters, about 10 minutes for 1 to 1 1/4 pound lobsters, and about 11 minutes for 1 1/2 to 2 pound lobsters.

Make sure the chunks are bite sized so it's easy to get a fork full of different fruits and lobster meat, and enjoy!