Spam musubi onigiri is a snack made by marrying two similar dishes from two distinct islands.
Spam musubi:
-Originated in Hawaii
-A slice a teriyaki glazed spam placed on top of a nugget of rice (nigiri style).
Onigiri:
-Originated in Japan
-A ball of rice that may or may not have filling of some sort.
All I did was put a slice of Spam into furikake Sushi rice. Big on flavor, not on work. Simple snacking. Easy eating. No sweat noshing.
Sushi is traditionally made with the freshest of fish and eaten raw. Today, I have opted for a canned precooked meat product instead. Sorry Japan, my love for Spam trumps hundreds of years of tradition. Hawaii may be largest consumer of Spam in the United States but I can say with confidence that my house hold is a close second. I have yet to meet anybody that doesn’t enjoy Spam and quite frankly not looking forward to (I don’t need that much negativity in my life).
This love story started at a young age, I’m 99.99% sure that Spam was one of the first few words that I uttered as a child. My parents put this stuff in everything! Packaged ramen, macaroni soup, stir fries, mai fun, eggs, bread and often times served with white rice and a touch of soy sauce. Growing up poor taught me two things: “having money isn’t everything, not having it is (Kanye West)” and that Spam can be applied to just about anything.
Now that my love for spam has been noted, let me explain what you see above. Spam musubi onigiri is my way of presenting Spam musubi with a Japanese twist. Spam musubi is traditionally made with plain white rice but I much prefer the sweet acidity that sushi rice brings to balance out the saltiness of the Spam. You can make it with white rice but I highly advise against it.
The Spam slices are cut with a cookie cutter, seared until crispy and finally molded with a bigger cookie cutter (see notes). The rice is combined with furikake, giving it that seaweed sushi taste. Soo Good! The flavor of the furikake is up to you but I prefer the original (the blue one in the picture above). You may also sear the onigiri to give it an extra crunch (see notes). Aside from the taste, this dish does have an added benefit. This recipe will leave you with leftover bits and pieces of Spam, I tossed mine in scrambled eggs. Ahhh…nostalgia. What are you gonna do with your leftovers?
- 4 cup Cooked Sushi Rice See notes for recipe
- 6 tbsp Furikake
- 2 sheet Roasted Nori Cut into 1 inch thick strips
- 2 can Spam I recommend lower sodium
- 1 tbsp Canola Oil
- Teriyaki Sauce Optional, to serve
- Mix the furikake with the sushi rice and set aside.
- Put the small cookie cutter through your Spam to get a cylinder. Cut the cylinder into 6 disks. You can use the rectangular leftover pieces to make the traditional Spam musubi. The bits and pieces can be used for what ever your heart desires.
- Over medium heat, add the Canola oil and sear both side to get a crunch (2-3 minutes on each side).
- In the bigger cookie cutter, fill the bottom 1/3 with rice. Place spam on top and fill with rice (make sure to press down tight on the sides).
- Wrap the nori around the rice and you're done.
Sushi rice recipe and instructions can be found here
Modifications to the sushi rice:
- Make the rice on the sweeter side (3-5 tbsp pf sugar)
- Wash the rice three times only (The starch will allow the rice to hold together)
My cookie cutters were 2 1/2 Inches and 3 1/4 Inches
Searing the onigiri: brush both sides with sesame oil and place it into a pan over low-medium heat. When the grains take on a charred appearance, flip and repeat (3-5 minutes on each side).
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