It seems appropriate to start off this food blog with a recipe that I grew up eating and making as a kid. Spam Musubi is a popular snack in Hawaii and for good reason. It is delicious and portable. You can take it to school for lunch, to the park for a picnic, or even sneak one in the movie theater as a snack. Have the kids make them with you and make an event out of it!
The only special equipment you will need is a Spam musubi mold which you can find at a specialty Japanese or Hawaiian market. If not, then Amazon is your new best friend. Musubi is typically composed of spam, rice, and nori (seaweed). But with your imagination the possibilities are endless. In this recipe we give you a few simple ideas to mix it up a little!
Spam and What Is It?
When people hear the word Spam they are either completely grossed out or they start drooling. We definitely lean heavily on the latter side. A nice, crispy slice of Spam is so satisfying. Meaty, salty, and delicious!
But what is Spam exactly? According to their website, Spam is made up of just six ingredients: pork with ham, salt, water, modified potato starch, sugar, and sodium nitrite (preservative). Six ingredients compared to the laundry list of ingredients in many other processed foods? I’ll take it.
Admittedly, Spam is not anywhere near a healthy alternative to buying/cooking your own meat, but you can still enjoy it without completely ruining your diet. Everything in moderation!! But I highly encourage those of you who look down on Spam, just because it comes from a can, to give it a real try. You may be surprised. Just please make sure to cook it right. Gotta get that nice crispy texture on the outside!
Give this recipe a shot and you may just start becoming a Spam believer. Let us know how yours turned out and what additions you made to your version! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest as well. Enjoy!
Snack Recipes to Try
Spam Musubi
Ingredients
- 2 cups short grain rice
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 12 oz can Spam, cut crosswise into 8 equal slices
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 3 sheets Nori seaweed, cut lengthwise in thirds
- 1 tbsp Furikake Optional
- 1 tbsp Ichimi Togarashi (Red Pepper) Optional
- 1 tbsp Sansyo (Japanese Pepper) Optional
Instructions
- Rinse rice two to three times and drain well. Add the rinsed rice and measured out water into a rice cooker and cook until done.
- In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, warm up teriyaki sauce. If your teriyaki sauce is on the thicker side add a splash of water and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
- Heat oil in a large flat pan over medium-high heat. Add spam slices in single layer and cook 2 minutes per side or until slightly crisp and browned. Turn off heat and remove spam slices to a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess oil.
- One by one take the crisp spam slices and place them in the teriyaki sauce to coat. Then place the coated slices back into the large flat pan over medium-low heat to caramelize. Cook on each side for about a minute. Remove to clean plate.
- With the spam and rice ready, you are now able to assemble the musubi. Place a strip of nori (shiny side down) onto a cutting board. Lightly wet the inside of the musubi mold with water. Place musubi mold across the middle of the nori.
- Add rice to the mold about 1/2 to 2/3 cup rice (depending on what ratio of spam to rice you want), press down firmly and evenly. Remove mold from the rice.
- At this step you can add any of the optional ingredients listed above. Evenly sprinkle whichever optional ingredient you choose to the rice block. Ichimi togarishi will add a bit of heat, sansyo Japanese pepper will add a hint of citrus, or add your favorite variety of Furikake (dry Japanese seasoning).
- Last but not least add your slice of spam on top of the rice block. Fold over one side of the nori and stick it to the sauced spam. Then fold over the other side, use a bit of water on your finger if needed to help it seal.
- Your spam musubi is now ready to eat. Enjoy!
