Lobstre recipe:Thai Lobster Soup

Spicy Thai Lobster Soup recipe from Chef John Doherty of the NYC Waldorf Astoria Hotel

Ingredients for the Bisque:

* live female lobsters

Colossal Live Female Lobster
Maine femalelobster in its most animated form- LIVE.

* 2 cups sliced red onion
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
* 2 cups diced fennel
* 1 cup dice lemongrass
* 2 dried bay leaves
* 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
* 6 cups unsweetened coconut milk
* 1/2 cup squeezed lime juice
* 1/2 cup minced ginger
* 6 sprigs fresh thyme
Ingredients for the Garnish:
* 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
* 2 finely diced mangoes
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Preparing the Bisque:

Using a cleaver, remove the dark green egg sack and reserve it. Remove and discard the innards from the lobster head. Separate tail, claw joints and claws. Then, chop the body and claws into 2-inch pieces. Do the same for each lobster.
Heat olive oil in a large stockpot until it is shimmering and hot. Add the lobster heads and pieces until the shells are a bright red. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove shells and place in a bowl. Pour brandy into the pan and deglaze for about two minutes. Pour these contents into the bowl with the lobster.
Heat the remaining oil and add the fennel, red onion and lemongrass to cook. Add garlic and ginger and cook about three more minutes. Slowly, add the curry paste, coconut milk, bay leaves, 6 cups of water, thyme and simmer for about four minutes. Remove lobster tails and let them cool. Then, add the tail meat. Pass the lobster sac through a sieve and whisk into the soup. Simmer for about one hour.