Lobster seaweed rice rolls

Do you like lobster? Do you like gimbap? Then you’ll love this recipe: it’s simple to make and a real delicacy.

I had always wanted to visit Maine to taste their great seafood: lobsters, crabs, oysters, and clams, so recently I took a road trip through New England. It’s a really pretty part of America, especially in the fall, and the seafood was really fresh and delicious. I tasted their local dishes and also cooked a few dished of my own using local seafood. I never travel without a few essential Korean ingredients, and with them I made this lobster gimbap.

I didn’t have my gimbap mat with me, so rolling them took some skill. If you have a mat, check my traditional gimbap video for a clear demonstration on how to use it.

I had never made lobster gimbap before, and as far as I know I invented it on my trip! It really turned out wonderful and I made it 2 or 3 times when I was there. I’m really looking forward to going back to Maine again, it’s a really nice place.

A note on lobster cooking time: the local fish shop told me that the cooking time would vary based on how many lobsters I was cooking, how big they were, and whether they were hard or soft shell. For my 2½ pound soft shell lobster it took 20 minutes, but you can check their website for more detailed instructions for cooking other lobsters.

Ingredients (for 2 servings, makes 3 rolls)

• 2½ pounds of lobster, cooked in boiling water for 20 minutes, drained
• 2 to 2½ cups cooked rice (made with 1 cup short grain rice)
• 3 sheets of seaweed (gim), lightly roasted
• 1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
• ½ of an English cucumber, cut into strips
• 6 strips of danmuji (yellow pickled radish)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Prepare rice:

1. Make rice by following my recipe.
2. Put the freshly made rice into a shallow bowl or on a large plate. Gently mix in ½ teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil with a rice scoop or a wooden spoon.
3. Let it cool down, so it’s no longer steaming. Cover and set aside at room temperature.

Cook and prepare the lobster:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Grab the live lobster and quickly put it into the boiling water head first.
2. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Drain the water and rinse off the lobster.
4. Crack open every part of the lobster, remove all the meat, and put it on a plate. Kitchen shears can be useful for this, and be sure to remove the big vein from the back that runs the length of the lobster’s tail.
   

Roll the gimbap (if you have a gimbal, see my traditional gimbap recipe for rolling instructions):

1. Place a sheet of gim shiny side down on your cutting board. Evenly and thinly spread about ⅔ cup rice over top of it. Leaving about 2 inches uncovered on one side of the gim.
2. Place cucumber, carrot, danmuji, and lobster strips in the center of the rice. Use your both hands to roll the the gim and rice over the fillings, so one edge of the rice and gim reaches the opposite edge. This centers the fillings in the roll, so they will be nicely in the middle when you slice it.
3. Press tightly as you continue rolling the gimbap. Set the finished roll aside and repeat 2 more times with the remaining ingredients.
4. Put some toasted sesame oil on the finished rolls.
   

Serve:

1. Cut each roll into ¼ inch bite size pieces with a sharp knife. To make it easier to cut, occasionally wipe the knife with a wet cloth to clean off the starch.
2. Put it on a plate and serve immediately or pack it in a lunchbox. Serve with soy sauce in a small bowl for dipping.