Garlic Black Pepper Lobster with Lemon Grass Fried Rice

This was a recipe I saw on some TV cooking show, then looked up online.  Who could resist this much garlic?  The original recipe was with live lobster, but I'm a bit squeamish about committing murders in my kitchen.  Instead, I decided to buy pre-murdered lobsters - nearly as tasty, and a clean conscience was had by all (except my bank account).

Ingredients

2 (1 to 2 pound) unwitting lobsters, alive or dead, tails cut into 4 or 5 medallions

20 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 cups sliced scallions (save 1/4 cup of sliced green scallions for garnish)

2 tablespoons ground black pepper, medium ground

1 cups white wine

1 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup fish sauce

6 tablespoons butter

Salt, to taste

Olive oil

Directions:

In a large, hot saute pan or wok, coated well with olive oil, saute the lobster. Add the garlic, scallions, and black pepper. Deglaze with wine and add chicken stock and fish sauce. Add butter and check for seasoning.

Lemon grass fried rice:

3 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 small white onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon minced ginger

3 stalks lemon grass, minced, white part only

4 cups cooked jasmine rice

1 lemon, juiced

Salt, to taste

Directions:

In a saucepan on high heat coated with sesame oil, sweat the onions, garlic, ginger and lemon grass. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the rice and saute the rice for 5-10 minutes until hot, slightly brown, and crispy. Add lemon juice and soy sauce and check for seasoning.

On a large plate, mold a mound of rice in the middle and top with lobster. Garnish with sliced scallions, if desired.

Tips -  This makes a lot of extra sauce, but I poured it onto the rice just before serving.   You can form the rice like this by using a cookie cutter or buying a cheap "ring", a chef tool made for serving piles of sides like rice or mashed potatoes.  Also, be careful not to overcook the lobster - I cooked the fried rice first and kept it on low until the lobster was ready.  Enjoy!