Lobster Sticky Fried Rice

You won’t find regular fried rice as tasty as this Lobster Sticky Fried Rice. Large, succulent chunks of lobster can be seen throughout the dish. Even though it’s not generally served during the lunar new year, the addition of lobster makes this dish extremely remarkable and worthy of being on a holiday or Chinese New Year dinner table.

However, you may have some concerns regarding this meal. The question I had to ask myself was whether the lobster or the sticky rice was the dish’s main attraction.

Each is correct, of course. Having previously prepared “fried rice” dishes using glutinous rice, I can attest that the addition of lobster takes them to a whole new level.

Lobster is one of those luxurious additions that can elevate even the simplest dish to the next level. Glutinous rice makes this dish extremely rich and tasty, and fresh, sweet lobster prepared in the style of a fine dining establishment is a wonderful compliment.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 whole 1¼ to 1½ pounds live lobsters
• 2 ounces of finely chopped Jinhua ham or any other dry cured ham
• 6 cloves of coarsely chopped garlic
• 2 eggs (separate the whites from the yolks)
• 2 cups of vegetable oil for frying
• 1½ cups of sticky rice
• ¾ cup of finely chopped scallions (separate white and green parts)
• ½ cup of diced red onion
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped ginger
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In order to prepare the lobster, kill them and chop them up into manageable chunks.
2. Following that, fill a big bowl with the lobster meat. Sprinkle the lobster with the flour and cornstarch mixture you just made. Gently coat each piece of lobster by tossing.
3. After the sticky rice has been soaked and drained, place it in a pot with 8 cups of water and boil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to drain after straining into a strainer and give it a short rinse with cool water. To facilitate the stir-frying process, break up the rice with a fork before adding it to the wok.
4. Over moderate heat, bring 2 cups of oil to a boil in a wok. The oil is ready when little bubbles form around a bamboo or wooden chopstick when dipped into it.
5. Egg yolks should be beaten and poured into hot oil in a steady stream. They can be prepared in a short amount of time, at which point the egg may be easily removed using a strainer with a fine mesh, and the rest can be put aside.
6. Check the frying oil for any egg remnants using the fine-mesh strainer. Lower the heat to low (200F) and cook the garlic until it turns a light golden color.
7. Place in a dish and put aside using your fine-mesh sieve.
8. Turn the temperature up to medium-high. In batches, fry the lobster for 30-60 seconds per batch at 375-380 degrees Fahrenheit, carefully tossing the lobster with a metal wok spatula to ensure even cooking, or until the shells just turn pink. Having undercooked lobster is preferable to having rubbery lobster, so be careful! Since the cold lobster significantly lowers the oil temperature, you’ll need to wait for it to return to cooking temperature between batches.
9. Place the lobster in a spider or steel strainer and pour the oil from the strainer over a wide basin to catch any remaining oil. They’ll drain better if you transfer them to a wire rack. Oil from cooking the lobster, egg yolk, and garlic will be on hand. Strain the oil into a heat-safe basin through a fine-mesh strainer.
10. Let it cool, store it in the fridge, and use the remaining to make fried rice or whatever else you choose! Many restaurants utilize infusions because of the pleasant umami they bring to other meals.
11. It’s time to put the pieces together now. Sticky rice may need to be cooked in two separate batches if your wok is on the smaller side.
12. Chopped ginger should be added to the pan along with 1 tablespoon of the frying oil and heated over medium-low heat. Caramelize the ginger carefully, making sure not to burn it.
13. The Jinhua ham should be added next and cooked for another 30 seconds. If you can’t obtain the far more elusive Jinhua ham, dry-cured Virginia ham is a fine stand-in. Then, add the red onion and stir-fry for 30 seconds, or until aromatic and slightly softened.
14. Stir in the pre-cooked sticky rice and heat for 2 minutes. Egg whites beaten until firm are poured over rice. Keep cooking until the egg white is uniformly spread throughout the rice.
15. Add the salt and black soy sauce, and then evenly distribute the Shaoxing wine over the outer edge of the wok. Add the white pepper and the white sections of the scallions and stir fry until mixed.
16. Then, transfer the lobster meat and its juices to the rice, and mix everything together using a wok spatula. Then, mix in the green sections of the scallions and half of the fried garlic.
17. Toss the mixture again, then transfer it to a serving plate and sprinkle the remaining fried garlic on top.