Hawaii’s Famous Spam Musubi

Where did SPAM come from?

Let’s take a moment to talk about spam before we dive into the spam musubi recipe. SPAM, a canned lunch meat product, was introduced in 1937 by Hormel Foods in Austin, Minnesota. During the Great Depression, SPAM became a popular choice for affordable meat products.

Its popularity continued to rise, especially during World War II, as it could be stored for extended periods of time, solidifying its position in the culinary world. This is where the island’s love for SPAM products began. As the war ended, SPAM became a part of the local culture, with Fried SPAM Classic and rice becoming a popular meal.

The unique flavor quickly spread to other Hawaiian dishes like SPAM Fried Wontons and SPAM Musubi, making SPAM products a staple for any meal of the day. Nowadays, you can find SPAM foods everywhere, from convenience stores to restaurants, showing its unmatched global demand.

What is SPAM made of?

You might be pleasantly surprised to discover that SPAM is not the heavily processed mystery meat you may have imagined. In reality, SPAM is made up of just six ingredients! The brand’s website even provides a list of these ingredients, which include pork with ham meat added, salt, water, potato starch, sugar, and sodium nitrite.

Most of these ingredients are as basic as it gets! The only one that might catch your attention is sodium nitrite, which is used as a preservative to maintain freshness.

Hawai’i Loves SPAM Musubi

Hawaii’s famous Spam Musubi brings back so many memories of my childhood. I used to have it in my lunchbox for school, beach trips, and hikes. It’s such a staple in Hawaii that you can even grab it from convenience stores like 7-11, gas stations, and okazuya lunch shops.

Musubi is an incredibly popular dish that people in Hawaii absolutely love. It’s similar to the Japanese favorite called onigiri, but with a unique twist. Musubi consists of a delicious combination of packed white rice and your preferred meat or fish, all wrapped up in a strip of seaweed. It’s a mouthwatering treat that you won’t be able to resist!

SPAM musubi is such a tasty and convenient snack that we can’t get enough of!

How to Make SPAM Musubi

It’s a piece of cake to make SSPAM Musubi.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked Rice
• 1 can of SPAM
• NORI (seaweed sheet)

Teriyaki Sauce

• 1 cloved crushed garlic
• 2 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Let’s Cook

Cook the rice in a rice cooker and then cut the nori sheet in half to make two musubi’s. Start by opening a can of spam and slicing it into one-inch pieces. You’ll usually end up with around 9-10 slices.

Next, grab a pan and fry the spam over medium heat. Let it cook for about 3-4 minutes on one side before flipping it over. For some extra flavor, add teriyaki sauce to the pan and let it cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Now it’s time to assemble your musubi! Place a sheet of nori down and place the musubi mold on top. Scoop some cooked rice into the mold and press it down using the handle. Then, add the cooked spam on top and push out the contents using the musubi handle while lifting the rectangle mold.

To seal everything together, wet the ends of the nori with water and fold it towards the middle.

You’re almost done! You can serve your musubi hot or wrap it in plastic wrap for a convenient on-the-go lunch. Enjoy!