Spam Musubi at home? Why not?
It is fun to try new things when it comes to cooking. So let’s try making some famous Japanese treats at the comfort of our home. This one is called Spam musubi, and you can easily make it without worrying about failure.
Japanese dishes are probably one of the foods that Filipinos crave the most. I am living proof of that. There are days when I suddenly wanna eat sushi or anything similar. And it was such a struggle to find the nearest Japanese restaurant. What I did was find some easy to make Japanese food at home. Then it gave me the idea of trying and sharing it with a lot more people.
Key Ingredients
It is important to use sushi rice for this recipe. If not available, find a variation that can be considered a little sticky.
Any brand of soy sauce will do. But you may also get one from an Asian grocery if you want it to taste more authentic. Or you can opt for a gluten-free one too.
I bought rice wine vinegar from an Asian supermarket. At the same time, it may be available at local supermarkets that have an Asian section. It is mixed with sushi rice before shaping them. Then added to the sauce for the Spam slices.
Sugar, together with soy sauce and wine vinegar, will be responsible for many flavors within the dish.
Spam is known as a canned good from the West. But amazingly it gets used in a lot of Asian recipes, specifically Japanese and Korean ones. It contains enough salt to make a meal tasty and savory.
Nori sheets will bring out the authentic Japanese taste. We also need it to seal the musubi so the ingredients will stick to each other.
Let's start making it!
Cook the sushi rice by following the packaging instructions. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce made by combining the soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar.
Heat up the pan with cooking oil. Fry both sides of all Spam slices. After frying, dip them in the prepared sauce then fry again. Cut the nori sheets into lengthwise sizes.
Put the vinegar on the cooked rice and mix well. Shape the rice by using a small Tupperware or Spam can. Or simply use your hand to shape them. Make as much as the slices available. Put the cooked Spam on top of the shaped sushi rice. Wrap them around with nori sheets until secured.
Make-ahead and storage
It isn’t ideal for the rice to be cooked the day before in make-ahead musubi. But it would be fine if you do not have issues with hardened rice during reheating. However, there are a few tips that you can do for the make-ahead to become easier.
You can focus on Spam first. Marinate them overnight before the actual day of cooking. This will also make the sauce taste even better. You may fry them the night before too. Then just refry them or reheat them in the oven the following day.
Recipe
Spam Musubi Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups sushi rice
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 can spam
- 2 sheets nori
Instructions
- Wash and cook the sushi rice according to packaging. Once done, put the vinegar and mix well.
- Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. Cut the nori into lengthwise. Set aside.
- In a pan over medium heat, add the cooking oil. Pan-fry the spam slices until lightly brown on each side. Dip each slice in the prepared teriyaki sauce.
- To assemble the musubi, shape the rice in a Tupperware or spam can to create an oval shape. Alternatively, you can simply shape it by hand. Place the cooked spam on top of the rice and wrap them around with nori sheets.
Susan says
It’s look delicious