Spam musubi is a Hawaiian Islands staple. Nori is dried seaweed; sushi nori (some packages actually say “musubi nori”) comes in big squares, which you need to cut down to about 4 inches in width to wrap the Spam musubi. It’s available at Asian and some mainstream grocers. From Michelle Asakawa, serves about 4.
Ingredients
1 can Spam (regular, low-sodium, or Hot & Spicy)
4 cups cooked sushi rice, room temperature
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
5 sheets sushi nori, cut in half lengthwise
Directions
Cut Spam into 10 slices. Fry until slightly crispy. Drain on paper towels, if desired. (Hey, it’s Spam — it’s got some grease, you know?)
In another pan, combine the soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn off the heat. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
Add fried Spam slices to the pan of sauce and coat them well. For added flavor, let them sit in the sauce 30 minutes.
Make the musubi: If using a mold, moisten both parts with water. Lay a sheet of nori perpendicular to the mold (the long ends will stick out), then put some cooked rice into it and press flat. Position 2 slices of Spam over the rice, then add more rice and press again. Fold the ends of the nori over the rice, moistening them if needed to get them to stick, and carefully remove the musubi from the mold. Continue with remaining rice, Spam and nori.
This method results in 5 chunky musubi.
If using hands, moisten them with water (and dust with some salt, if you’re not worried about sodium), grab a handful of rice, and form it into a solid patty the same dimensions as a slice of Spam.
Lay 1 slice of Spam on top (because you won’t be topping the Spam with another layer of rice, it’s best to use just 1 slice with this method), then wrap the whole thing with a sheet of nori. You get 10 smaller musubi.
If using a bamboo sushi mat, you probably have the method down well enough to figure it out for yourself. (Just a little Hawaiian- Japanese humor there — but the method is the same as above.)
Wrap each musubi in plastic wrap and keep in a cool area (such as a basement; never the refrigerator — the rice will get too hard) until ready to eat. Alternatively, slice the musubi into bite-size pieces that resemble sushi, and serve immediately or cover and eat within 2 hours.
Wine ideas: Snobs will roll their eyes, but if there were ever a dish for white Zinfandel, this sweet- salty roll would be it. Find a drier version of the pink wine — Deloach or Pedroncelli’s Zinfandel Rosé, for instance — give it a good chill and enjoy.
— Tara Q. Thomas
