A Hawaiian classic! Spam Musubi is what I'm getting when I first get off the plane in Hawaii. It captures Hawaii's unique culinary heritage featuring seared spam, white rice, crisp nori and a sticky teriyaki glaze! This handheld snack is a cornerstone of local Hawaiian cuisine and is found everywhere from convenience stores to family gatherings. Its perfect balance of sweet, savory, and umami flavors makes it impossible to eat just one!
Spam musubi isn't just a snack - it's a cultural icon in Hawaii, where you'll find it everywhere! Its popularity stems from its incredible versatility and satisfying combination of textures and flavors. Glazed in a sweet and savory sauce, the spam develops a beautiful caramelization that contrasts perfectly with the tender rice beneath it!
The nori wrapper adds a subtle earthy flavor and keeps everything neat and portable, making it perfect for lunch boxes, picnics, or on-the-go meals. I love making my easy spam musubi recipe and wrapping them up when I am traveling or have busy work days! They're so satisfying after a hike too!
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Ingredients
- Spam: Traditional spam works perfectly here, but you can experiment with different varieties like lite, low-sodium, or even turkey spam. The key is slicing it evenly for consistent cooking.
- Rice: You will need cooked rice to assemble the spam musubi. I like to use sushi rice since it sticks together nicely.
- Seaweed Sheets: Cut them into 1 inch sheets so you can wrap the musubi into one little package!
- Cucumber: This is optional, for a variety of textures and flavors!
- For the Sauce: You will need water, soy sauce, mirin and brown sugar to make the perfect sweet and savory glaze!
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Easy Spam Musubi
Step 1: Cut your spam into 8 equal slices.
Step 2: In a pan, add spam and sear on each side. Remove spam and add the water, soy sauce, mirin, and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and add spam back in. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Allow the sauce to thicken slightly, while coating the spam in the sauce. Remove from heat.
Step 3: To an assemble, place plastic wrap inside the empty spam can, add spam and push it to the bottom. Add rice and press down to ensure even distribution. Remove plastic wrapped spam from the spam can.
Step 4: Add the spam and rice to the middle of a strip of seaweed, so the seaweed is going down the middle of the spam. Repeat with the other side of the seaweed. If traveling, tightly wrap it in plastic wrap so it stays together or eat it as is!
Hint: Feel free to sprinkle the rice layer with sesame seeds, furikake, or everything seasoning before layering on top the spam and cucumber!
Top Tips
- The easiest way to assemble the spam musubi is to use the empty spam can as a mold for perfectly sized musubi every time!
- Press your rice firmly but gently - too much pressure will make it dense and heavy, too little and it won't hold together.
- Let the glazed spam cool slightly before assembly to prevent the nori from becoming soggy.
- Keep your hands slightly wet while handling the rice to prevent sticking!
Storage
This spam musubi recipe can be enjoyed right after you make it, or within 4-6 hours of assembly at room temperature. If you need to store them longer, wrap each musubi individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and microwave for 20-30 seconds, or enjoy them cold - they're delicious either way! Personally, I pack mine with my lunches for a midday snack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spam is a canned meat product made primarily from pork shoulder meat and ham meat that became wildly popular during World War II.
Spam musubi is a Hawaiian snack food made of grilled or fried sliced Spam on top of a block of rice, wrapped together with nori (dried seaweed) in the tradition of Japanese onigiri. It makes the perfect little savory, handheld snack!
Yes! While the spam can makes an excellent mold, you can also use a musubi press, rice mold, or even shape them by hand using plastic wrap.
This usually happens when the spam or rice is too hot during assembly. Let both cool slightly before wrapping with nori sheets.
More Recipes to Try
- Vietnamese Avocado Chia Pudding
- High Protein Cream Cheese Wontons
- Korean Drunk Eggs
- Ginger Chicken Congee
- Beef Japchae
Spam Musubi
Ingredients
- 1 can spam
- 2 cups cooked rice
- seaweed sheets cut into 1 inch strips
- cucumber optional
Sauce
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Cut your spam into 8 equal slices.
- In a pan, add spam and sear on each side. Remove spam and add the water, soy sauce, mirin, and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and add spam back in. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Allow the sauce to thicken slightly, while coating the spam in the sauce. Remove from heat.
- To an assemble, place plastic wrap inside the empty spam can, add spam and push it to the bottom. Add rice and press down to ensure even distribution. Remove plastic wrapped spam from the spam can.
- Add the spam and rice to the middle of a strip of seaweed, so the seaweed is going down the middle of the spam. Repeat with the other side of the seaweed. If traveling, tightly wrap it in plastic wrap so it stays together or eat it as is!
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