Grilled Lobster with Thai Nahm Yum, Green Mango, Dill and Orange

BBQ season is here and this is the one. If you are going to light the coals, light them properly and make something worth it. Grilled lobster over charcoal with a Thai nahm yum poured over while it rests is one of the best things you can eat outside in the summer and it is simpler to pull off than most people think.

Lobster in the UK is at its best from late spring through to early autumn. If you are in London, Billingsgate Market in East London is where we source ours for Farang - it opens from 4am Tuesday to Saturday and has some of the best and freshest seafood in the country at trade prices. Worth setting the alarm for. If you're not near Billingsgate, any good fishmonger will order live lobster for you with notice. Ask for ones around 500-600g - the right size for one person, easier to grill and the meat to shell ratio is better than the big ones.

A note on killing the lobster before cooking. The most humane method recognised by the RSPCA is to place the lobster in the freezer for 20-30 minutes first to sedate it, then drive a sharp, heavy knife firmly through the cross mark on the head in one clean strike before splitting it lengthways. Your fishmonger will do this for you if you ask - there's no shame in that at all.

The nahm yum dressing is the engine of this dish. It hits all four Thai flavour points at once - sweet, salty, sour and spicy - and the combination of lime juice and fresh orange gives it a citrus brightness that works perfectly against the char on the lobster. If blood oranges are in season (roughly December to March in the UK), use them instead of regular orange. The deep red juice changes the colour of the dressing and the flavour is more complex and interesting. Outside of that window, a good fresh orange does the job.

Dill is not a herb most people associate with Thai cooking but it's eaten widely across Northern Thailand and into Laos. Scattered across this dish it adds a soft, herbaceous quality that works very well with lobster and lifts the whole platter. Don't be heavy-handed with it - a delicate hand is the right one here.

The green mango is there for crunch, freshness and acidity. In Thailand green unripe mango is eaten like a vegetable - chopped through salads, served raw as a vessel for relishes, dressed in fish sauce and chilli. It is sharp and firm where ripe mango is soft and sweet, and that contrast is the point. Alongside pink lady apple, which brings its own sweet-sour crunch, the two together give the dish texture and freshness that stops the richness of the lobster from becoming too much.

Serve this with sticky rice. Not jasmine. Sticky rice is what you want to mop up the dressing and the lobster juices that pool on the platter. Put finger bowls on the table. It gets messy and that is the whole point.

Grilled Lobster with Thai Nahm Yum, Green Mango, Dill and Orange

Serves: 2 | Prep: 30 mins | Cook: 10 mins | Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients

For the lobster

• 2 live lobsters, around 500-600g each, humanely killed and split lengthways (ask your fishmonger to do this if preferred)

• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

• Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the nahm yum dressing

• 4 Thai baby garlic cloves, peeled (or 2 regular garlic cloves)

• 2 coriander roots, cleaned

• 2 green bird's eye chillies

• 2 long green chillies, deseeded

• 1 stick lemongrass, outer sheath removed, roughly chopped

• 2 tbsp soft palm sugar

• 3 tbsp fish sauce

• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

• 3 tbsp fresh orange juice (or blood orange when in season)

To serve

• 1 green mango, peeled and finely diced

• 1 pink lady apple, core removed and finely diced

• 1 orange, segmented (or blood orange in season)

• Small handful fresh dill, picked

• Small handful fresh coriander, picked

• Small handful fresh mint, picked

• Crispy shallots

• Crispy garlic

• Sticky rice

• Fresh lime cheeks

Method

1. Light your charcoal 45 minutes before you want to cook. Add a chunk of hardwood if you have it - cherry or oak both work well with shellfish. You want the coals white-hot with no visible flames before the lobster goes on.

2. Make the dressing. In a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic, coriander roots, bird's eye chillies, long green chillies and lemongrass to a rough paste. Add the palm sugar and work it in until it starts to dissolve. Add the fish sauce, lime juice and orange juice and stir well. Taste - it should be sharp, salty, spicy and sweet in equal measure. Adjust any element that needs it. Set aside.

3. Brush the cut sides of the lobster generously with melted coconut oil and season well with flaked salt and black pepper.

4. Place the lobster halves cut-side down directly onto the grill over the hottest part of the coals. Cook for 4-5 minutes without moving them - you want real char on the cut surface. Flip onto the shell side for a further 2-3 minutes until the meat is just opaque and cooked through. The shell will turn deep red. Don't overcook - the meat should still have a slight spring to it.

5. Transfer to a large platter and pour the nahm yum dressing over immediately while the lobster is still hot. Leave to rest for 2-3 minutes so the dressing soaks into the meat.

6. Before serving, crack the claws gently with a pestle so diners can access the meat without a fight. Scatter the diced green mango and pink lady apple over the platter, then add the orange segments, dill, coriander and mint. Finish with crispy shallots and crispy garlic. Lime cheeks alongside.

7. Serve in the middle of the table with sticky rice and finger bowls. Let people get into it.

Chef's notes

If you don't have a charcoal BBQ, a very hot griddle pan works - get it screaming hot before the lobster goes on and don't move it for the first few minutes. You won't get the smoke but you'll get the char and the dressing does the rest.

Green mango can be found in most Asian supermarkets. If you can't track one down, double up on the pink lady apple. The dish works fine without the mango - the apple alone gives you the crunch and acidity you need.

Blood oranges in season (December to March) take this dressing to another level. The deep red juice changes the colour and the flavour is more complex. Worth making the dish again in winter just for that reason.

The dressing also works brilliantly on grilled prawns, scallops or white fish - make extra and use it across the week.

More recipes at faranglondon.co.uk. Sauces and pastes for cooking Thai at home at payst.co.uk.