An easy and popular Hawaiian snack, make your own Spam Musubi at home using rice, spam, and seaweed. If you’re a spicy fiend, try mixing in some hot oil to the rice for a change.
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If there’s one snack that I fallback on every time my husband and I are about to set out on a roadtrip, it’s spam musubi. It’s so easy to make as it requires minimum fuss, which is especially perfect if you have to set off early in the morning.
This hearty and flavorful snack is also a great option for packed lunches, bentos or even picnics!
Spam is an actual brand of canned luncheon meat that’s been synonymous to this popular Hawaiian snack. Spam is usually made of pork and over the years, many brands have produced their own version of this canned luncheon meat made out of chicken and turkey. Since I don’t eat pork, I used a canned luncheon meat that’s made out of chicken and it works just as well! But it’s not as cute calling this “Luncheon Meat Musubi” so for the sake of this post, let’s keep calling it Spam Musubi š
Hawaiian Spam Musubi with a Spicy Twist
Spam musubi is essentially a block of white rice that’s topped with a slice of fried spam, then wrapped in a piece of seaweed. I personally like to season my rice by adding on some rice vinegar, salt and hot oil (from your chili oil) as it provides a delicious spicy flair to the dish. I also sometimes add furikake for a bit more flavor.
The Hawaiian musubi is actually derived from the Japanese omusubi (aka onigiri), which is a rice ball that’s–more often than not–wrapped in nori. Though there can be many variations of musubi, the Spam musubi is one of the most popular versions. Especially in Hawaii! You can find them in convenience stores, supermarkets, or even gas stations.
Ingredients You Need
- White Rice
- Spam/Canned Luncheon Meat
- Light Soy Sauce
- Sugar
- Roasted Seaweed: You can cut the seaweed to whatever size of strips that you desire. If you like seaweed, then feel free to cut wider strips so that you’ll have more seaweed to spam and rice ratio.
- Optional
- Hot Oil (from Chili Oil)
- Rice Vinegar
- Salt
- Furikake
Recipe Instructions
Glazed Spam/Luncheon Meat
- Mix light soy sauce and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
- From a 12 oz can of Spam/luncheon meat, cut 4 slices (the thickness is up to your preference).
- Pan fry over medium heat until the bottom has browned and flip it over to do the same for the other side (3-4 minutes on each side).
- Turn the heat down to medium low and pour in the soy sauce sugar mixture into the pan, making sure to coat both sides of the meat. Let it cook for one minute before turning off the heat.
Seasoning the rice (optional)
- In a bowl, mix the freshly cooked hot rice with rice vinegar, salt and hot oil until well combined.
Assembling
- Line the empty Spam/luncheon meat can with a saran wrap and add rice. Press it down firmly to mold the rice. Optional step: add furikake on top.
- Remove the saran wrap gently with the molded rice and place a slice of the glazed meat on top. Finish it off by wrapping it with a strip of roasted seaweed (see notes). Seal the roasted seaweed together by using the soy sauce sugar glaze or with a bit of water. Serve and enjoy!
Notes for Easy Hawaiian Spam Musubi
- Musubi Mold: Don’t worry if you don’t have a mold. I just use the Spam can itself to mold the rice into the desired shape. You can also opt to shape the rice ball just with your hands. I suggest lightly wetting your hands before shaping the musubi to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands. Make sure to put in just the right amount of pressure so that the rice sticks together and doesn’t fall apart. But take care not to mush together the rice. You’ll get the hang of it with more practice.
- Freshly Cooked Rice: Because you want the rice to stick together easily, it’s best to use freshly cooked rice. If you use day old rice that’s been refrigerated, it would be too dry. Some people prefer more rice for their musubi, feel free to adjust according to your preference.
More Snack Recipes
- Chili Oil Tuna Melt
- Crispy Air Fried Crab Stick Crackers
- Shrimp Veggie Fritters (Cucur Udang)
- Cheesy Air Fried Potato Wedges
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Recipe
Easy Hawaiian Spam Musubi
Ingredients
- 4 slices Spam/canned luncheon meat
- 2 cups freshly cooked hot short grain rice
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- roasted seaweed cut into long strips
- furikake optional
Rice Seasoning (optional)
- 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp hot oil
Instructions
Glazed Spam/Luncheon Meat
- Mix light soy sauce and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
- From a 12 oz can of Spam/luncheon meat, cut 4 slices (the thickness is up to your preference).
- Pan fry over medium heat until the bottom has browned and flip it over to do the same for the other side (3-4 minutes on each side).
- Turn the heat down to medium low and pour in the soy sauce sugar mixture into the pan, making sure to coat both sides of the meat. Let it cook for one minute before turning off the heat.
Seasoning the rice (optional)
- In a bowl, mix the freshly cooked hot rice with rice vinegar, salt and hot oil until well combined.
Assembling
- Line the empty Spam/luncheon meat can with a saran wrap and add 1/2 cup of rice. Press it down firmly to mold the rice. Optional step: add furikake on top.
- Remove the saran wrap gently with the molded rice and place a slice of the glazed meat on top. Finish it off by wrapping it with a strip of roasted seaweed (see notes). Seal the roasted seaweed together by using the soy sauce sugar glaze or with a bit of water. Serve and enjoy!
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