OK.
This is most definitively A First World Problem... The end-of-the-week fridge clean-out at the Test Kitchen netted me some AMAZINGLY incredible ingredients: scallions, bean sprouts, many greens and herbs... and a lobster.
You heard me... A lobster.
I didn't want to overwhelm the delicate sweet lobster, but I also didn't want to go my usual route. So the scallions and bean sprouts pointed the way!
I cut some thin thin slices of ginger into tiny matchsticks. I sliced a bunch of scallions, keeping the whites and greens separate. I gently steamed the split and cleaned lobster until the meat was JUST firm enough to remove from the shells.
I did this when cool, and then cubed the meat. NOT tiny pieces... Big Meaty Cubes. I got out some great high-end soy sauce, some peanut oil I'd saved from a jar of natural peanut butter, cooked rice, and my trusty 40-year-old wok.
And yes! When stir-frying, mise en place is ESSENTIAL.
I set the table. Yes, really. When this is ready, it's ready! I lit the candles, poured the wine, heated the bowls and... only then... began the race to the table.
Heated the wok. Tossed in some oil. Tossed in the ginger and scallion whites. Stir-fried for about a minute.
In went the sprouts. 30 seconds.
In went the rice and a dash of soy. Just heated the rice through.
Added the lobster. Tossed and fried for about a minute. Into the bowl...
Topped with scallion greens. Raced to the dining room.
Gentlemen, start your chopsticks!
You'll notice: none of my usual suspects... No red pepper or hot sauce... No garlic (horrors!)...
There's a reason. Lobster. The Star. Stars don't like being upstaged. The scallions and ginger are the chorus line that allow The Star to be front and center.
And it worked.