Spam musubi

Spam musubi

Spam musubi made from Spam and rice
Origin
Place of origin	United States
Region or state	Hawaii
Details
Course served	Snack
Serving temperature	Hot or cold
Main ingredient(s)	Spam, rice, nori, soy sauce

Spam musubi are commonly sold in convenience stores packaged in plastic boxes.

Spam musubi is a popular snack and lunch food in Hawaii composed of a slice of grilled Spam on top of a block of rice, wrapped together with nori dried seaweed in the tradition of Japanese omusubi.

Inexpensive and portable, Spam musubi are commonly found near cash registers in convenience stores all over Hawaii.

Preparation

Typical preparation begins with grilling slices of spam, sometimes with a light teriyaki flavor. An acrylic mold (often the shape of a slice of Spam) is then placed over a long, narrow piece of nori and rice is pressed into the mold. The grilled spam is placed over the rice before the mold is removed. The nori is then wrapped over the top and around the musubi. It is served sometimes with soy sauce or Japanese mayonnaise.

Variants

Spam musubi with egg.

Similar to the Japanese onigiri, variations on the traditional Spam musubi exist.

The following are just a few examples of the limitless variations:

• Furikake mixed into the rice
• Scrambled egg added between the Spam and rice
• Takuan added between the Spam and rice

Musubi may also be with hot dog, fried shrimp, chicken teriyaki, chicken katsu, or pork cutlet instead of Spam.

History

Spam became a popular food in Hawaii after World War II. Spam was a main course for the troops during the war, and the large military presence in Hawaii led to Spam's widespread local adoption. Local Japanese created the Spam musubi as a result.

See also

• Cuisine of Hawaii
• Loco moco, another Hawaiian dish that can involve rice and Spam

References

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