Nathan Night- Lobster Fried Rice

Normally on Nathan Night it's all about Nathan and Gramma doing something fun, but this time around The Chef was in on the fun. Since he was off work recuperating from his surgery he got a chance to be Grandpa for the evening and teach Nathan something new. Remember The Chef and Nathan playing guitar together on Easter Sunday? Holy buckets....... now it's DRUMS. Right smack in the middle of the dining room. I just have to shake my head and let boys be boys. It was a lot of fun watching the guys work out a couple songs. We made a couple videos for Nathan's parents to watch and I got a few pics snapped.

If only you had seen the look in Nathan's eyes sitting on the throne with those sticks in his hands. He was sooooo into it. Honestly for someone who had never ever played a drum in his life, he wasn't half bad! He listened to what Grampa Chef was telling him to do, and did his best to keep the count steady- even got the headbanging motion going on. 

All that drumming will make a guy work up quite an appetite! Nathan had wanted to learn about making Asian dumplings but he also wanted to try something new he'd never eaten before- lobster. Our budget was a little limited to we had to make something that stretched the lobster a bit, and sticking with the Asian theme, fried rice was the best option. We got our lobster at Aldi, believe it or not. 

If you haven't been in an Aldi store, you need to visit. I swear it's our new go-to grocery store. It's two blocks from home and they have a very large selection of organic produce and other foods, healthy grains, gluten free foods, imported European groceries and some of the best prices around, especially on meat and seafood. The package of lobster tails contained two good sized tails, just the perfect amount for our dinner, and a very reasonable $12.99 price tag. Here is how we made it-

Lobster Fried Rice

2 lobster tails

2 cups instant rice, uncooked

1 cup snow peas, halved

small bunch scallions, sliced

2 tablespoons soy sauce, plus more

2 eggs

oil for cooking

Thaw lobster completely, if frozen. Rinse the lobster well. 

Bring a large pot of water o a full boil. Add the lobsters and cook for 8-12 minutes until the shells turn bight red and meat is tender. Remove from boiling water and plunge into an ice bath to stop cooking. Pull the meat from the shells and chop into large chunks.

Place the instant rice in a large boil. Stir in 1 3/4 cups boiling water and the soy sauce. Cover tightly and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff, and spread out on a sheet pan, pop in fridge to cool.

When ready to cook, heat a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add a swirl of oil. Beat the eggs and add to pan. Cook the egg like scrambled eggs and remove.  Add more oil and add the vegetables. Stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice and continue to stir fry until hot. Toss in the lobster and egg, heat through. Serve with additional soy sauce.

Since Nathan has been curious about his Korean heritage, even though he is pretty far removed from his Korean ancestors, he has been talking a lot about dumplings- Asian dumplings. We talked about making dumplings next time we had a weekend together and I had been setting aside recipes but in the end, Nathan wanted to try the lobster more than he wanted to try making handmade dumplings so we went with our old standby- gyoza and shu mai from Trader Joe's. They are so super easy to prepare and very authentic. Nathan was able to help with the frying and steaming and plating. As always, we had a great time and a great dinner! Now we just need to convince Mom and Dad that they need to spring for a drum set too!