Recipe

Lobster Temaki with Mojo and Avocado

Name: Lobster Temaki with Mojo and Avocado
Prep time: 55 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 200 g short-grain Japanese rice, uncooked; 260 ml water to cook the rice; 35 ml unseasoned rice vinegar; 10 g sugar; 3 g fine salt; 300 g raw lobster tail meat, without shell or intestinal vein; 20 ml olive oil, divided in two parts; 2 small garlic cloves, very finely chopped; 30 ml sour orange juice; ¼ teaspoon dried oregano; 1 g fine salt; 4 large sheets of nori seaweed for sushi, about 19 × 21 cm; 140 g firm avocado flesh, peeled and pitted; 80 g seedless cucumber, cut into thin sticks

Nori cones filled with vinegared rice, lobster cooked in sour orange mojo, and avocado. A Cuban-Japanese fusion dish to serve right away.

CiberCubaNovember 7, 2026

AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Preparation55 min
Cooking25 min
Total time1 h 20 min
Servings8 temaki; 2 cones per serving
DifficultyMedium

These temaki combine the shape of a sushi cone with lobster cooked with garlic, oregano and sour orange. The avocado softens each bite and the vinegared rice keeps the Japanese character of the dish.

The recipe starts with raw lobster tail meat, shell removed, and explains how to cook it in a skillet. The amount of mojo is small: it should season the seafood without soaking the rice or softening the nori before serving.

Method

Prepare the vinegared rice

Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water, stirring gently and draining each time, until the water runs less cloudy. Let it drain for 5 minutes. Transfer it to a small heavy-bottomed pot, add the 260 ml of water and let it soak for 20 minutes.
Cover the pot and heat over medium heat until it boils. Reduce to the lowest heat and cook for 12-14 minutes, without lifting the lid. Remove from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes with the lid on.
Mix the vinegar, sugar and the 3 g of salt for the rice until dissolved; warm slightly if needed, without boiling. Spread the hot rice in a wide, shallow dish, fold in the dressing with gentle cutting and folding motions, and let it cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Do not crush the grains.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Cook the lobster in mojo

While the rice rests, pat the lobster meat dry with paper towels and cut it into pieces of about 2 cm. Check that no shell or intestinal vein remains and season with the gram of salt.
Heat 10 ml of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lobster in a single layer and cook about 4-6 minutes in total, turning the pieces so they cook on all sides. The time depends on thickness: the center should be completely opaque and the flesh firm; if you use a thermometer, check that the thickest piece reaches 63 °C. Remove to a clean plate.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
Lower to medium-low heat, add the other 10 ml of oil and sauté the garlic for 30 seconds, without browning it too much. Add the oregano and the 30 ml of sour orange and let it bubble for 30-60 seconds. Return the cooked lobster to the skillet and stir for a few seconds to coat it with the mojo, without prolonging the cooking.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
Transfer the lobster to a shallow container and let it release its steam. Refrigerate it until assembly. If liquid remains at the bottom, drain it; the pieces should be seasoned and juicy, but not dripping.

Shape the temaki

Cut each nori sheet in half to get 8 rectangles of about 10 × 19 cm. Cut the avocado and cucumber into thin sticks and divide the lobster, avocado and cucumber into 8 portions. Keep the nori sheets dry.
Place a nori rectangle in the palm of a dry hand, shiny side facing out. With the other hand slightly moistened, spread one eighth of the rice over the left half of the rectangle, in a thin layer.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
Lay one portion of lobster, avocado and cucumber diagonally over the rice, with one end pointing toward the upper left corner. Bring the lower left corner toward the top edge, wrapping the filling, and keep rolling the rest of the nori around it to form a cone with a closed base and an open top.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
Seal the end of the seaweed with one or two grains of rice. Repeat with the other seven cones and serve them as soon as they are assembled, two per person. Do not add a drizzle of mojo over the cones: excess liquid would soften the nori.

Tips and variations

The 300 g of lobster is the weight of the raw, cleaned tail meat, after removing the shell and the intestinal vein. The recipe does not use claws. If you buy frozen tails, thaw them in the refrigerator before you begin; that time and the removal of the shell are not included.

The approximate 80 minutes include soaking, resting and briefly cooling the rice. You can cook the lobster while the rice rests. If your rice package recommends a specific water ratio for sushi, follow that guidance.

Use unseasoned rice vinegar. If you use a store-bought sushi dressing, adjust the amount according to the manufacturer and do not automatically add the sugar and salt listed.

To replace the 30 ml of sour orange, mix 20 ml of orange juice and 10 ml of lime juice. The mojo is made in the skillet after cooking the lobster; the citrus does not replace cooking it.

The lobster should be opaque and firm in the center, with no translucent areas. Drain any excess mojo before filling. Keep the seafood refrigerated until assembly and make the cones just before eating. Nori loses its texture if left filled in the refrigerator.