Fresh Maine lobster poached in butter, homemade wasabi mayonnaise, crisp greens – all rolled up in sushi rice and nori.  A friend in Japan,  Shizuoka Gourmet , recently challenged me to create a Japanese version of our traditional New England Lobster Roll  and this was his vision. Sounded good to me, and here is the result.  Thank you for the inspiration Robert-Gilles, they were delicious!

Maki in Japanese cuisine means rolled sushi, with the sushi refering to the vinegared rice that is wrapped inside with various other fillings. To make this lobster maki, varying amounts according to how many rolls you’d like to make, you will need:  

Ingredients for New England Lobster Maki Roll:

• Sushi rice
• Nori sheets
• Homemade mayonnaise
• Wasabi
• Butter poached lobster tail and claw meat
• Baby lettuce mix
• Sushi rolling mat

Every time I make sushi, I  think of the masters who train for years perfecting this art form……I have great respect for them.  It is, however, manageable to do at home and some practice pays off. It may sound like a daunting task, but there are shortcuts here and one of the critical components – homemade wasabi mayonnaise – actually takes just a few minutes to do.  To make you will need:

Homemade Wasabi Mayonnaise Recipe:

• Two large egg yolks 
• Scant cup of vegetable or olive oil (or a blend)
• Wasabi powder
• Salt and pepper

If you were making traditional mayonnaise, you would add some lemon juice, perhaps some mustard and a dash of cayenne, but for this one, the wasabi will give it the flavor it needs. So, in a food processor, wiz up the egg yolks, and with the processor running, slowly add the oil to the yolks. Like in a very, very small stream. In a couple of minutes you will see everything coming together- continue to add the oil slowly and when it is as thick as you like , add the seasonings.

Add a teaspoon of wasabi powder, salt and pepper and blend together quickly. Taste, adjust seasoning and that’s it.

How to poach the lobster in butter:  

• 1  lobster, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 stick unsalted butter

 Bring enough water to cover the lobster to a boil, put the lobsters in and wait just a couple of minutes. When they have  ‘expired’ , drain, let cool and then remove the claw and tail meat. The lobster body can be steamed (above, not in boiling water) for several minutes and used for something else.

 Melt a stick of butter in a pan or wok and slowly cook the lobster in the butter, spooning the butter over the lobster meat often. Do not boil or try to cook too quickly, the slow cooking in the warm butter will help the meat absorb all the flavor.

About the sushi rice………..

I have made sushi rice at home – but now I buy it from either a Japanese restaurant, or at the sushi counter in the supermarket.  They really will sell you a pint, or a quart of the cooked and seasoned sushi rice they make and use – I have never been turned down and it only cost a couple of dollars per pint. So well worth it to me in terms of time and skill for making really great sushi rice! If you are more adept than I am at it, by all means make your own. I do flavor mine a bit more with an extra sprinkle of mirin, and a dash of rice vinegar, but carefully – too much will cause it to lose it’s stickiness.  

So with the ingredients all ready, and a small bowl of water to dip your fingers in (helps to keep all the rice from sticking to you), lay a sheet of nori on your bamboo mat, shiny side down. I like to pass my sheets of nori briefly over a low flame on my gas burner until just fragrant, but this step is not strictly nessecary. If you are making small rolls, you can cut the sheet in half. Press some rice down on the nori, reaching right to the edge that is closest to you, but leaving some room at the top. When the rice is down, add a thick line of the wasabi mayonnaise down the middle.

On top of the mayonnaise, add some fresh lettuces, then a row of the poached lobster.

 Press all this down firmly, trying to get the lettuces and lobster securely in the rice.

 Push toward the end of the nori that is away from you. Curling up the front of the mat, guide the front edge of the roll toward the back, and squeeze firmly down the length of the roll.

It does take some practice, but even if your rolls don’t look perfect – they will taste great.

When you have a small strip at the end, brush some rice vinegar or water on it along the length – this will allow the nori to stick to itself and keep your roll intact.

So with everything rolled up, put it seam side down on a cutting board, and with a very sharp knife that has been dipped in water, cut the roll into bite-sized pieces. Avoid any sawing motion – it will rip your roll apart!  The quicker the better here.

Traditional condiments served with maki rolls are pickled ginger, wasabi paste and soy sauce. For this special roll I also had some more of the wasabi mayonnaise and some of the butter the lobster was poached in. What a fun dish to make, it was well worth it!