Musubi spam is one of Hawaii's favorite snacks. This snack is famous for being enjoyed by children on the beach, is a side snack at the mall, and is a quick snack to eat during office hours.
Ingredients
- A packet of seaweed (nori); "sushi nori" can also be used
- Spam (canned meat usually from ham)
- Rice
- Furikake (optional)
- Soy sauce
Step
Part 1 of 3: Rice
Step 1. Wash the rice before cooking
Rinsing or washing rice is a common, traditional way of preparing Japanese rice, however, you are actually stripping the rice grains of any nutrients that may be present when washing the rice.
Step 2. Cook the rice in the rice cooker
A regular 2.8 liter rice cooker will be enough to produce 10 to 12 spam musubi, depending on how much rice is used for each slice.
You will need to use about 1.25 cm thick rice on both sides of the spam, so try to measure the rice you use based on how much you need
Part 2 of 3: Seaweed and Spam
Step 1. Cut two sheets of seaweed
Place it with the glossy side down (so the rough side is facing you). Set aside now.
Step 2. Cut spam
Shake the can upside down, so that the meat can come out to the bottom. Position the spam horizontally and cut it into slices.
You may need to use a sharp knife on the inner edges to get it out easily
Step 3. Cook spam
Try a variety of methods, such as frying, grilling, or boiling spammy slices. Since the spam is already cooked, you don't need to cook it for as long as it takes to cook other types of meat.
- Microwave: Microwave for at least one to 1 minutes.
- Frying/baking: stop when it turns brown or looks crispy.
- Boiling: Boil spam in a solution of part soy sauce, 1 part water and a little sugar or sweetener for 5 minutes.
Step 4. Make the marinade ("marinade")
Mix soy sauce and palm sugar equally in a small bowl and soak the cooked spam for a while.
Part 3 of 3: Arrange
Step 1. Place a piece of seaweed vertically on a cutting board
Wet the musubi mold and place it in the center of the seaweed. Do not get too wet because it can make the seaweed moist and mushy.
Step 2. Scoop the rice into the mould
Put the rice in about 0.65 cm to 1.25 cm high, depending on how tall the mold is. You can flatten it out to see how much rice you want in it.
Sprinkle furikake over rice, if desired
Step 3. Place a slice of spam on top of the rice
If you plan to spam the top of the musubi, fill the mold with more rice and flatten it hard. Sprinkle with furikake, place the spam slices on top, and wrap in seaweed
Step 4. Take another spoonful of rice and place it on the span
Wet the back of a spoon or the top of the musubi mold to press and flatten the rice.
Step 5. Slide the mold so that the musubi comes out
Holding the top of the flat part, slowly slide the mold around the top and remove the musubi. Remove the flat part afterwards, be careful with the sticky rice.
Step 6. Take both sides of the seaweed and fold it
This step is similar to wrapping a baby in a blanket. Apply water to the edges of the seaweed to glue it together.
Step 7. Serve the musubi while it's hot or warm
The rice should be hot. If you're using refrigerated or chilled rice, cook it in the microwave for a few minutes before spamming the musubi.
Tips
- Wet the mold and the flat side after each use. This will make putting together a lot easier and the rice won't stick to the mold.
- To store these treats, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Heat in the microwave before eating; it tastes better when it's still hot.
- Seaweed can also be cut into thin lengths besides being cut in half. Lay the long strips vertically, so that the mold is centered.
- If you can't find a tool to make musubi, make something that will hold the rice in place and something that will "push" the rice down. For example, you can cut off the top and bottom of a spam container. Be careful not to get hurt by the sharp edges.
- Avoid flavoring the rice; this is not sushi, so don't add rice vinegar to your rice cooker.
- Try adding cream cheese to the spam for extra flavor.
- Try using fish sauce and soy sauce for cooking AFTER soaking the spam in the seasoning.
