The word "lobster" was first seen in Ming Wang Shimao's "Minbu Shu": "The most peculiar one is the lobster, which is still wriggling in the plate and is about one foot long. Its whiskers are half the length of its body, its eyes are protruding, and there are two horns hidden on the top. It is like a small dragon, and it spits out red seeds behind its tail. The color is better than that of pomegranate flowers. It is really a rare species." The Chinese word "lobster" originated from this.
"Er Ya·Shi Yu" records lobsters: "鰝, big shrimp. The big shrimp is two or three feet long, and the whiskers are several feet long. Those like this are called 鰝."
In modern times, lobster is a popular seafood with rich nutrition and unique taste. There are many kinds of lobsters in the world, totaling about 400 species, and the names are also varied. So which kind of lobster is the best? Among them, the more well-known ones include splendid lobster, ripple lobster, rose lobster, rock lobster, red dragon, black and white lobster, mottled lobster, eye spot lobster, oil dragon and blue lobster. Below, the editor has sorted out the top ten lobster types for everyone. Come and take a look at the classification and related information of these lobsters.
1. Splendid Lobster
Features: Colorful and bright shrimp shell/large body
Habitat: Indian Ocean/Western Pacific
<span Splendid lobsters, also known as flower lobsters, are one of the larger species of lobsters, and are distinguished by their bright colors. Their bodies are turquoise, with purple-pink patches on their blue breastplates and pale yellow spots near their joints. Splendid lobsters can weigh up to 5 kg and can grow up to 60 cm long, but are usually between 20 and 35 cm long.
This lobster is mainly distributed in the Indo-Western Pacific region, ranging from East Africa to Japan, Australia and the Fiji Islands. In China, it is mainly found in the South China Sea and Taiwan waters. It lays a large number of eggs in summer and autumn, and the eggs are numerous and small. The best time to eat it is from October to March of the following year. Its meat is fresh, sweet and tender, especially suitable for sashimi. The market price is generally several hundred yuan per catty.
2. Corrugated Lobster
Features: Green shell/beautiful appearance
Habitat: South Asian waters
The wavy lobster is also known as the blue dragon or the blue shell. It is common in the waters of South Asia. Its body is green to brown, with orange and blue markings on the front of the cephalothorax and between the eyestalks, blue-orange markings on the legs, and tiny white dots on the abdomen. It looks very attractive. Each weighs about 1 jin, which is very suitable for banquets. One for each person is just right.
Although the blue dragon is not big, it has a thin shell and the meat is fresh and sweet. The taste is better than other lobsters, so the price is higher. It is a regular ingredient in high-end fashion restaurants. It is suitable for steaming with garlic, or grilled with cheese or as sashimi. The meat is very tender.
3. Rose Lobster
Features: Shell color brownish red / bright red after cooking
Habitat: Mozambique Channel
Rose lobster, also known as Mozambique lobster or pink lobster, is one of the ten famous lobsters. Compared with other lobsters, the origin of rose lobster is relatively rare, mainly distributed in Madagascar and Africa.The Mozambique Channel between the mainland and the United States. The exported products are mainly frozen. Its shell is brownish red with white spots, and it turns bright red after being cooked. It is extremely beautiful and is known as the best seafood.
The cooking method of Mozambique lobster is similar to other lobsters. It can be steamed, baked, dry-fried, etc., especially after being grilled on the teppanyaki plate, it can show its delicious taste. The natural color of rose lobster is light pink, which will turn into dark pink after heating. It has a bright color and a smooth texture.
4. Rock lobster
Features: Shell dark red/purple brown
Habitat: South/West/North Australia
In the list of the best lobsters in the world, rock lobsters are definitely on the list. The world-famous Australian lobster is the rock lobster. Rock lobsters usually refer to Australian lobsters, which are mainly distributed in the south, west and north of Australia. Due to the unique local climatic conditions, they can be caught almost all year round, and they are extremely durable and suitable for long-distance transportation.
The meat of rock lobster is firm, crisp and sweet, and weighs about 6 to 7 kilograms. Among them, those weighing 30 kilograms are considered the most delicious and juicy. The carapace of rock lobster has dense and thick spines, and the whole body is dark red or brown-purple, with yellow spots on both ends of the body. When the tail fan is unfolded, its color is consistent with the carapace, and the large area in the middle is orange-yellow or light yellow.
5. Red Dragon
Features: red shell/long whiskers/no clamps
Habitat: United States/Mexico
<span style="background-color: Red dragon is a common lobster, mainly distributed on the west coast of the United States and Mexico. Since these waters are one of the cleanest in the world, red dragon lives in an environment far away from pollution, so the meat quality is particularly excellent. It is a precious aquatic product and a favorite of high-end seafood restaurants around the world. Due to the strong market demand and relatively limited supply, the price of red dragon in the market has remained high.
It is understood that American red lobsters have slightly red meat, long whiskers, no claws, and bright red stripes on their legs; while Mexican red lobsters are larger and more meaty, similar to American red lobsters, with pink or red bodies. No matter where they are produced, the meat of red lobsters is delicious, tender and nutritious.
6. Black and white striped lobster
Features: Shell color is black and white
Habitat: Southeast Asia
Black and white lobster, also known as mottled lobster or white-bearded lobster, is one of the ten most common lobsters in the world. As its name suggests, the black and white lobster is dark green with black and white stripes, black markings on the cephalothorax, the second pair of antennae is white, the walking legs are blue with obvious white stripes, and there is a white line with a blue edge on the posterior edge of each abdominal segment. It mainly lives in the waters of Southeast Asia and can be caught all year round, with summer and autumn being the best time to eat it.
This lobster has snow-white, crystal-clear meat, sweet and crisp, and has an excellent taste. Slicing it for sashimi can best preserve the original flavor, and simply baking it in soup is also a good choice. In addition, you can stir-fry the lobster head with black pepper, make the meat into oil-soaked lobster balls, and the lobster tail is suitable for cooking lobster soup.
7. Eyed Lobster
Features: white spots on the carapace/black and yellow tail fan
Habitat: South America
The eye-spotted lobster is a very unique type of lobster, and its appearance is as colorful as a bee. This lobster mainly grows in South America and is more common in the Caribbean, the United States, Cuba and other places. It is a lobster with a very high cost performance. Initially, exports were mainly frozen products, but as demand increases, live lobsters are now available all year round.
The eyed lobster is characterized by white spots on its body, with a base color of olive green or brown and beautiful colorful patterns. Its abdominal segments are smooth with shallow grooves in the middle, and its tail fan is black and yellow, like a "bee". This lobster has no claws, but has long antennae, and its body length is usually around 20 to 40 cm.
8. Oil Dragon
Features: turquoise/white ring
Habitat: Indonesia/Pakistan
Oil dragon is one of the ten most common lobsters, also known as yellow-spotted lobster or spotted lobster. Its shell is turquoise with a light white ring on its body. It is mainly distributed in the vast waters of the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean, with Indonesia and Pakistan as the main production areas. Oil dragon lives on the slopes outside the coral and in the deeper muddy areas. It is the largest lobster in the genus, with a maximum body length of 60 cm.
As a representative of high quality and low price, although the oil dragon lives in the sea area with higher water temperature, due to its large amount of activity, the meat is very firm and the taste is both chewy and tender. It has strong vitality, is lively and active, and is easy to store, making it the first choice for cooking in major hotels.
9. Blue Lobster
Features: Bright blue shell
Habitat: France/UK/New Zealand
Blue lobster is a relatively rare species of lobster. It is a rare genetic mutation of American lobster, and its shell is bright blue. It is said that there is only one blue lobster in about 2 million lobsters. It is known as a rare marine creature comparable to a living fossil. It has a long growth period, but the age of the shrimp has little effect on its meat quality. Regardless of size, the meat is tender and delicate, with a rich and sweet taste. As soon as you put it in your mouth, you can feel the unique sweetness and light salty aroma of the lobster, which also makes it highly sought after in the market.
Blue lobsters are mainly produced in France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand, among which the most famous is the Brittany region of France. In French cuisine, blue lobsters are known as the four major delicacies along with foie gras, truffles and caviar.
10. Fire Lobster
Features: fiery red when ripe/large size
Habitat: Eastern Australia
Fire lobster, also known as fire dragon, is a unique lobster from eastern Australia. It is named after its flame-like color after being cooked. Fire lobster is a treasure-level lobster. It is considered to be one of the largest known lobsters, weighing up to 16 kilograms. Its meat is extremely tender, elastic, and has a very obvious sweet taste.
Currently, the international and domestic markets have a low level of awareness of this type of lobster, and it is mainly accepted by highly specialized seafood stores. It is rarely seen in general seafood stores, so compared with other Australian lobsters, its price is still relatively affordable. Whether it is steamed with garlic, baked with cheese, or used as sashimi, it is delicious.
The top ten lobster species are based on the characteristics and quality of common lobsters, with reference to the public popularity of lobsters and other related information, and combined with other related rankings/lists on the Internet for comprehensive ranking recommendations. The list is for reference only. If you have any questions, please comment/communicate at the end.
More famous lobsters:
Lobster, claw lobster, hairy lobster, long-legged lobster
animal tags: lobster