Spam Musubi
Spam Musubi is a popular Hawaiian snack that’s so savory, easy to make, and fun to serve! Whether you make a batch for lunch or to serve as finger food at your next party, this rice, spam, and nori recipe is sure to satisfy. Make sure to serve it with a side of soy sauce!
Spam Musubi
If you don’t already know what Spam Musubi is, allow me the pleasure of enlightening you! Essentially, this recipe is the BEST way to dress up some spam. You know, that inexpensive canned meat that so many people try to avoid? Trust me, after just one bite of this savory Spam Musubi, you’ll soon be hoarding cans of it just so you can make this recipe time and time again.
Spam is marinaded in a mix of Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar to make it incredibly well balanced with different salty and sweet flavors. It’s then quickly pan fried before being assembled with sushi rice and nori to make your picture perfect Spam Musubi. It’s such a quick and easy recipe that you’ll love making almost as much as you love eating!
Next time you’re watching the big game, surprise everyone at the party with a big serving of Spam Musubi. In the middle of all the nacho cheese and sliders, you’ll have a unique offering that just about everyone will love. Of all the delicious recipes that have been born from the gorgeous island of Hawaii, I think this deliciously simple one might just be my favorite. Well, it’s at least in my top 5!
How to Make Spam Musubi
If you have any little ones running around the kitchen, they’ll love helping you with wrapping the nori!
- Marinate the spam. Combine all of the measured marinade ingredients. Place the spam in a bowl and cover it with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Sauté the spam. Get your pan nice and hot over medium high heat. Once hot, lower the heat to medium and fry the spam for about 1-2 minutes per side. Work in batches if needed. Cook until slightly browned on both sides.
- Assemble the Spam Musubi. Use a Spam can or a Spam Musubi mold to assemble this dish. Scroll down just a little for some in detail tips on how to best assemble it!
Tips:
Here are just a few little nifty tricks that’ll help you make this snack-sized favorite!
- When molding the Spam Musubi, there might be a bit more rice under the spam. That will happen because the spam may shrink just a bit during cooking. Trim the excess rice if you want or not.
- Dip your fingers in the vinegar and water mix to keep the rice from sticking to your fingers so it can be pressed into the Spam Musubi.
- Remember, if you don’t have a Musubi mold, you’ll need to save that empty Spam can!
How to Assemble Spam Musubi
There are two different ways you can go about assembling your Spam Musubi! Just go with whichever is most convenient for you.
Method 1:
- Line an empty, clean spam can with plastic wrap. It needs to fit at the bottom and have plastic go up both sides.
- Place a strip of nori paper in the bottom of the can.
- Top the nori with one slice of spam.
- Top the spam with sushi rice.
- Press the rice down and keep adding pressure.
- Use both sides of the plastic sling to lift the formed Spam Musubi.
- Fold the nori strip and secure it in place with some vinegar water.
Method 2:
- Place a strip of nori on your working surface.
- Place a Musubi mold on top of the nori paper.
- Place a piece of spam inside the bottom of the mold.
- Top the spam with sushi rice.
- Press the rice in the mold to form the Spam Musubi.
- Lift the mold straight up and place it to the side.
- Assemble the nori strip with vinegar water.
Check out more of my favorite Hawaiian-inspired recipes!
For more easy luau recipes, follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
Get the Recipe: Spam Musubi Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 sheets of nori paper, trimmed and cut into 8 long strips
- 1 cup cooked sushi rice, cooked according to package instructions, and cooled to room temperature.
- 1 can spam, 12oz cut into 8 slices. (*SAVE THE EMPTY CAN!)
- 2 sheets of nori cut in quarters
- 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 3 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- Water and rice vinegar, to keep rice from sticking to your fingers during assembly
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix the Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar together well. Set aside.
- In a shallow bowl, place the sliced spam and then pour the marinade over it. Cover with plastic wrap. Let this marinate for 10 minutes.
- Heat a medium sauté pan on medium high heat for one minute (you want the pan to get nice and hot!). Once hot, turn the heat down to medium and fry the spam for about 1-2 minute each side. You may need to do this in batches so each piece has room to brown. Check after 1 minute, and continue if it needs to brown a bit more (this is a part where it can go from cooked to burnt quickly). It should be slightly browned on both sides. Once each piece is cooked, set on a plate to the side and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Option- you can glaze it while cooking with the leftover marinade however this will create a thick sort of coating in the pan.
- Build the Musubi – using a clean work surface/cutting board, have your nori paper, cooked sushi rice, small bowl of ¼ cup water mixed with 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, and sautéed Spam. Additional helpful equipment includes the empty spam can (cleaned out and dried), plastic wrap, and a serving plate.
- There are two ways of assembling the Musubi- (1) using the Spam can, or (2) using a Spam Masubi mold (found on Amazon). Both methods are assembled “upside down” so to speak or backwards, so once molded, it’s ready to eat and you don’t need to flip it over to wrap with nori.
- Method 1:
- Line the empty clean spam can with plastic wrap like a sling- it needs to fit at and cover the bottom and have plastic go up along both sides.
- In the plastic lined spam can, carefully place a strip of nori paper on the bottom.
- Top the nori strip with one slice of cooked spam.
- Top the spam with 3 TBSP of cooked rice.
- *This is where the small bowl of ¼ cup water mixed with 1 TBSP rice vinegar will come in handy; dip your fingers in this mix to keep the rice from sticking to your fingers so it can be pressed into the Musubi*
- Using the back of the TBSP measuring spoon, press the rice down and keep adding more pressure to form the Musubi.
- Once formed, using both sides of the plastic sling, gently lift out the formed Masubi.
- Place on your flat surface, and fold over one side of the nori strip to the center of the Masubi, then add some of the vinegar water on that nori tip to seal in the other side of the nori strip.
- Place the finished Musubi on a serving platter while the remaining pieces are assembled.