I. Ingredients
Main Components：
- 2 lobster tails (300g, peeled)
- 20ml lime juice
- 100ml coconut milk (≥20% fat)
- 150g fresh mango (diced)
Foam Base ：
- 5ml fish sauce
- 3ml Sichuan pepper oil
- 15g honey
- 5g gelatin sheet
- Garnish 10g red chili strips 4 mint leaves 2 edible pansies
II. Tools
Essential Tools：
Additional Tools ：
- Sous-vide cooker (optional)
- Molecular gastronomy spherification mold (3cm diameter)
III. Steps
1. Lobster Preparation
- Sous-vide cook lobster tails at 55°C for 12 minutes (or steam for 5 minutes). Chill immediately in an ice bath to lock in tenderness.
2. Foam Sauce
- Blend coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, Sichuan pepper oil, and honey. Heat to 40°C in a double boiler.
- Add bloomed gelatin, stir until dissolved, then strain and cool to room temperature.
3. Nitrogen Infusion
- Transfer the sauce to the cream whipper (fill 2/3 full). Charge with N₂O and shake vigorously 10 times.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour to stabilize the foam structure (gelatin and coconut milk lipids synergistically stabilize bubbles).
4. Molecular Mango Spheres
- Mix mango dice with 5% sodium alginate solution. Drop into 0.5% calcium chloride bath for spherification.
- Rinse and set aside for plating.
5. Plating
- Arrange sous-vide lobster on a slate plate. Dispense nitro foam at a 45° angle using an offset spatula.
- Garnish with mango spheres, chili strips, mint, and pansies.
IV. Culinary Innovation
- Flavor Design:Sichuan pepper’s numbing heat and mango’s sweetness create a “tingle → sweetness → refreshment” progression, inspired by Sichuan cuisine’s bold contrasts.
- Technical Fusion:Combines sous-vide precision (preserves lobster’s delicate proteins) with modernist foam technology (0.3g/cm³ density, 5x lighter than traditional sauces).
- Aesthetic Philosophy:The coral-like foam mimics lobster texture, while chili strips echo the dish’s fiery character, adhering to molecular gastronomy’s visual storytelling principles.
V. Creative Adaptations
- Vegetarian Version: Replace lobster with grilled king trumpet mushrooms; use almond milk + sansho pepper foam.
- Cocktail Pairing: Blend leftover sauce with rum and charge in the whipper for a “Sichuan Mango Mojito Foam.”
- Quick Serve: Use pre-cooked lobster salad with instant nitro foam for a 10-minute gourmet appetizer.
VI. Science Notes
- Gelatin Synergy: Coconut milk’s lauric acid binds with gelatin to form a micellar network, increasing foam stability by 40% at 4°C .
- Spherification Chemistry: Sodium alginate (from brown algae) reacts with calcium ions to create edible membranes, achieving a 2mm burst texture .
Note: Serve with chilled Riesling to balance Sichuan pepper’s heat. Consume foam within 15 minutes for optimal aeration.