If there was ever a perfect food in this world, then it would be Spam. If you’re wondering, Spam is the same thing as luncheon meat and it goes with everything. Fry it, steam it, bake it or deep-fry it; Spam will never disappoint.
Spam Musubi is a popular snack in Hawaii and when you make this, you’ll wonder why you’ve not made it sooner.
While you can replace this with other brands of luncheon meat, I do find the Asian brands just a tad saltier, but to each his own. Not to mention, it’s a little hard to get a hold of Spam (Original) right now, so I settled for the Lite version instead. Use whatever kind of Spam or luncheon meat that’s on hand and tweak the sauce to taste.
The recipe is pretty straightforward, just like the rest of our Simple Stay-home recipes. This will be done in no time and you can even make more in advance for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 can of Spam
- 1 sheet of nori (seaweed)
- 3 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce
- 1 – 2 bowl of cooked rice, preferably Japanese rice
Optional
- Half an avocado or an egg
Homemade teriyaki sauce
- 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon of sugar
Optional
- 1 tablespoon of mirin (Japanese rice wine)
Tools
- Medium-sized saucepan
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Cling film
Recipe Preparation
Preparation time: 10 minutes; Cooking time: 10 minutes
Feeds two
- Gently pry out the entire block of Spam. Rinse and keep the can.
- Cut the Spam into roughly 1cm slices.
- For homemade teriyaki sauce, pour soy sauce and sugar into a shallow dish. Then, give it a good stir.
- Pour teriyaki sauce into a shallow dish. Place Spam slices inside and make sure the sauce coats each piece.
- Let the Spam marinate for 5 minutes or as long as desired.
- Place pan on medium heat and fry Spam until crispy.
- Pour remaining sauce into the pan and let it get caramelised and sticky.
- Remove Spam from the pan and allow to cool.
- Using the cling film, line the inside of the can.
- Cut your nori into half. Skip this step if you want to use the entire strip.
- Assemble your Spam Musubi the way you like it. Start with either a layer of Spam or rice.
- If you start with rice first, press the rice down the best you can with the back of the spoon.
- Use about 1 to 2 spoonfuls of rice.
- Pull the cling film upwards and out with the Spam and rice. Wrap with rice with the nori strip.
- (Optional) To amp up your Spam Musubi, you can use avocado or eggs as one of the layers.
Recipe (In Pictures)
Step 1: Gently pry out the entire block of Spam. Rinse and keep the can.
Step 2: Cut the Spam into roughly 1 cm slices or whatever thickness you prefer. I like to make my Spam Musubi with a greater rice-to-Spam ratio, since Spam already packs so much flavour.
Optional: For homemade teriyaki sauce, pour soy sauce and sugar and give it a good stir. If you have some mirin lying around, you can pop a tablespoon or so in too.
Step 3: Pour teriyaki sauce or homemade teriyaki sauce into a shallow dish. Place a Spam slice inside and make sure the sauce coats each piece.
Step 4: Let the Spam marinate for 5 minutes or as long as desired.
Step 5: Place pan on medium heat and fry Spam until crispy. Pour remaining sauce into the pan and let it get caramelised and sticky.
Step 6: Remove Spam from the pan and allow to cool.
Step 7: Using the cling film, line the inside of the can. This part is undoubtedly tricky—have patience and you’ll get it.
Step 8: Cut your nori into half, or you can just use the whole piece 0f nori if you like.
Step 9: Assemble your Spam Musubi the way you like it. Start with either with a layer of Spam or rice. If you start with rice first, press the rice down the best you can with the back of the spoon.
I would use maybe about one to two spoonfuls of rice but adjust as you make your own version of Spam Musubi.
Step 10: Follow with the Spam and remember to press it down.
Step 11: Pull the cling film upwards and out, and your Spam and rice should come up nicely. Wrap your rice and Spam with a nori strip. If the rice starts to fall apart, gently press the layers down.
(Optional) To amp up your Spam Musubi, you can add avocado or eggs as one of the layers.
For this one, I used a thicker piece of nori for better support.
There you have it, your Spam Musubi. This is so satisfying as a midday snack or even breakfast.
I reckon you can never go wrong with Spam in anything. You get the sweetness of teriyaki sauce and the savouriness from the Spam. It’s a perfect bite, if I do say so myself!
What I like to do is to make an entire batch of Spam Musubi, then cling wrap it so I always have it on hand. Spam Musubi is truly convenience food at its best.
If you really feel like indulging, you can even deep-fry the Spam Musubi—I’m salivating just thinking about it.
Besides this recipe, why not try other savoury delights such as our take on the McSpicy or the Fragrant Thai Basil Chicken? Either way, you’re going to be a whiz in the kitchen!
Expected Damage: S$3 – S$4 per portion (feeds 2 pax)
