Chilled egg tofu with yabbies and mitsuba

Preamble
First remove the meat from the 12 cooked yabby tails by gently twisting the tail from the head until it becomes separated.

Antony Scholtmeyer

Chilled egg tofu with yabbies and mitsuba

First remove the meat from the 12 cooked yabby tails by gently twisting the tail from the head until it becomes separated.

Then with a pair of kitchen scissors cut from the head end down to the tail on both sides of the tail.

Gently remove the meat with out breaking it

Yabby dashi stock

Ingredients

12 yabby shells
1 onion
1 white of leek
3 tomatoes
1 carrot
2 cloves of garlic
1 kondu leaf
30gm dried Bonito flakes
1ltr water
15 black pepper corns
zest of 1/2 lemon blanched

Gently rinse the yabby shells under cold running water

Peel and chop the onion, carrot and leek.

Peel the garlic cloves and hit with the side of your knife so that it splits open.

Chop the tomatoes roughly

Add the above prepared ingredients to the one lt. of water

Bring to the boil and then turn down to a very low simmer.

Skim regularly to retain the clarity of the stock.

Keep skimming

Simmer skimming regularly for 1 hour

Pass through a course sieve into another pot and bring to the boil.

Add the kondu leaf and the bonito, turn down to a simmer and skim again.

Cook for 2 mins only.

Season to taste with a pinch or 2 of sea salt

Pass through a sieve lined with cheese cloth or 3 damp chux cloths folded over twice.

You should end up with a light clear broth.

Retain the kondu leaf and rinse under cold running water.

Then cut into 6 equal sized squares.

Reserve 400ml of the Yabbie Dashi for the egg tofu.

Bring the remainder of the Dashi to the boil and add the blanched lemon zest.

Take off the heat and leave to infuse.

Pass through the cheese cloth/chux and chill in the fridge.

egg tofu

Ingredients

Special equipment; 6-100ml dariole moulds
pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C (355 degrees F)
4 whole eggs
400ml yabbie dashi
30ml mirin
30ml sake
24 small Mitsuba leaves
sea salt

In a blender whizz the above ingredients together with a pinch of sea salt

Pass through a fine sieve and leave to settle for 30 mins.

Skim any foam from the top of the surface and pour into the 6 dariole moulds

Prepare a deep sided baking tray by placing a damp tea towel on the base and then place the dariole moulds on top of the tea towel.

Fill the tray half way up the sides of the moulds with hot water.

Cover the tray with a foil lid

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 to 40 mins or until the the custards are firm to touch.

When they are cooked through remove from the oven, take the custards from the tray and cool covered with cling film.

Refrigerate.

To serve

In 6 large bowl plates place the konbu squares in the centre.

Turn the egg tofu custards out gently and place ontop of the konbu

Pour the chilled lemon scented

Yabbie Dashi around the tofu custards and in each bowl place 4 Mitsuba leaves around it.

Trim the yabby tails of any membrane or veins. Garnish the top of the tofu custards with the yabby tails and serve.