You're thinking the same right? The answer is no. No Lobster. It should be called “Shrimp with Sauce they put on Lobster”, but that wouldn't sell.
The lobster sauce you get at Red Jade and most American-Chinese restaurants would be a derivative of the sauce in Lobster Cantonese. In short, it's a meat broth that's lightly thickened to coat the lobster. But are you expecting them to coat lobster for a $10.75 meal? (yes) Instead, they opt to use their smaller crustacean cousin that's obviously more cost effective.
For me, there are three important aspects of the lobster sauce:
- Meat stock - a good stock goes a long way. I would expect a good restaurant to use their butcher ends and odd pieces to make some that they would use to make other dishes, such as this one.
- Sauce Thickness - the sauce should be thickened just enough to coat the back of your spoon, and/or just enough to coat your rice, cause that's what's you're going to be eating it with, hopefully. Gloopy and clumpy sauce is a big no no.
- Silky egg - Thin sauces tastes homogeneous, texture wise. The egg, provided they made it properly, would build some structure for the sauce. The egg wouldn't be clumpy, nor should it hold any solid shape. Instead, it would taste like little strands of silk flowing across your tongue. This will make a good lobster sauce great.
Unfortunately, Red Jade's version didn't satisfy all three aspects. In fact, they didn't even use any egg. I was fairly disappointed since I was LITERALLY EXCITED for the sauce texture. They did however make up for it with the variety of vegetables they used. Usually there are no vegetables, except for green onion as garnish and the occasional green peas. The sauce tasted of chick stock, properly thickened, and a healthy dose of salt and MSG <3. Naturally I ordered to have this over steamed rice to let the sauce shine through, which I would consider it did. I ended up still finishing the entire order, not bloated, not coma'd out.
Would I come back again for this? Probably not. If one day I was roped into coming here with a few friends and wanted something lighter, this would be my choice. 🛵
Read about other Lunch Specials I ate at Red Jade.
