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Spam Musubi is rapidly growing in popularity and for good reason! It’s so good! No need to book a flight to Hawaii to enjoy it, this local favorite can easily be made in the comfort of your own home.
When I lived in Hawaii, Musubi was an actual staple in my day-to-day life. I lived across the street from a Foodland (a popular grocery store in Hawaii) and I would try to get there as early as I could to get some Musubi before it sold out for the day. I would usually buy one for breakfast and pack another one away for lunch. It is such a convenient “starving college student” meal because it is filling and also super cheap. Back in the day, you could find them for under $2, so for a poor college student living in Hawaii where everything is ridiculously expensive, it was a no-brainer. This recipe is as local and authentic as it gets. You are going to love it!
What is Spam Musubi?
Now, you may be wondering what Musubi is. You also may be asking yourself why I want you to try Spam. Well, a little history, Spam became increasingly popular in Hawaii after WWII, it was sent to the troops stationed in Hawaii and kind of spread from there. It was cheap. It was easy to cook. And it still is! It is actually still one of the staple foods there today. It is so famous that even McDonald’s Hawaii breakfast platters includes Spam.
Ingredients in Spam Musubi
- Spam – Regular or “Lite” Spam will work great for this recipe
- Marinade / Glaze – I like to make a marinade with Oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar but any kind of teriyaki sauce will work great as a marinade.
- Nori roasted seaweed – This can be found at most Asian markets. I am seeing it pop up more in local grocery stores too, which makes shopping even easier.
- Sushi Rice – This is key ingredient. Regular rice won’t work for Spam Musubi. Sushi rice is sticky and forms into a mold for easy hand-held eating. We have two methods for preparing sushi rice: Sushi rice on the stovetop and Instant Pot sushi rice. Both work great for this recipe.
- Furikake (optional) – Furikake is a seasoning made from seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, and spices. My kids literally put it on everything.
What is Spam?
Spam is a canned meat made mostly with ham. When I lived in Hawaii, I had Spam all the time, mainly because it was pretty much all I could afford. I had it for breakfast with eggs and rice and dinner with noodles and rice. And for lunch, I made this Spam Musubi. You can buy Spam Musubi in Hawaii at any grocery store or gas station but on the mainland it’s a bit harder to find. Luckily, it’s super easy to make and the ingredients can be found at most grocery stores.
You may be skeptical (I know Spam has a bit of a reputation), I was too until I tried it. Even if you aren’t the biggest fan of Spam, this is worth a try! No joke, if you ask any of my kids what their favorite snack or school lunch is, they will all tell you it’s Spam musubi. Last time we went to Hawaii it was all they wanted to eat (especially when it was Mickey shaped). Don’t knock it ’til you try it!
Is Musubi Best Hot or Cold?
This is a question I get asked all the time. In short, musubi is best when it is served hot or warm. If musubi cools too much or if it is refrigerated, the rice can dry out and get too hard making it crumbly. This can be avoided if it is wrapped up VERY well. When I pack my kids lunchboxes, I not only wrap it up tight, I also put it in a plastic container and press out as much air as I can. My kids will eat it cold for lunch and haven’t complained so that being said, it’s not bad cold, it’s just best when it’s warm.
Storing and Reheating
If not eating immediately, wrap each musubi very tightly in plastic wrap. Wrapping the musubi will help keep it all together and also help the rice to not dry out so quickly. I wrap it while it is still very hot so all that steam stays inside. Musubi can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 hours but I like to play it on the safe side and usually don’t keep it out past 2 hours. To refrigerate, place the wrapped musubi pieces in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To re-heat, remove the plastic wrap, then wrap the in a damp paper towel and microwave for 45 seconds or until heated through.
Make Your Own Musubi Mold
To make musubi, you will need a Musubi mold. If you don’t have one on hand, you can make your own. First, you will need to get a Spam can (you will need Spam anyway to make the Musubi). Next, clean it out well with soap and water. CAREFULLY cut off the bottom with a utility knife or an exact-o knife, then cover the sharp edges with electrical tape or duct tape (make sure the tape you use non-lead based). This can be tricky to do and we recommend just using a store-bought mold but it is a good Plan B if you are desperate.
More Tasty Authentic Hawaiian Recipes:
Loco Moco
Chicken Long Rice
Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken
Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki
Authentic Hawaiian Mac Salad
Haupia
Malasadas
Chocolate Haupia Pie
How to Make Spam Musubi
Spam Musubi
Video
Equipment
- Musubi Mold (you need this for the correct shape)
- Cutting Board (we like this striped one)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Spam
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Nori roasted seaweed used for sushi, cut into halves or thirds (I cut it into thirds to make it go further)
- 6 cups cooked sushi rice WITHOUT the vinegar mixture added –Click HERE for the Sushi Rice Recipe
- furikake (optional)
Instructions
- Slice the SPAM into about 8-10 slices (depending on how thick you like it) and put in a Ziplock bag. Mix oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar until sugar is dissolved and add to the bag with the SPAM. Marinate for about 15 minutes.
- Drain off marinade and fry SPAM on each side over medium heat until slightly crispy or until desired doneness. Some people like to glaze the SPAM with the marinade/sauce AFTER frying, either way tastes great!
- Place a strip of nori on a cutting board or clean surface (shiny side down). Place your Musubi mold across the middle of the nori.
- Add Sushi Rice to the mold, pressing down firmly and evenly so there is about 1-1 ½ inches of rice. Dip the mold and your fingers in water as you go to prevent sticking.
- Optional: Add a sprinkling of furikake (a mixture of sesame seeds and little bits of nori) for extra flavor.
- Next, remove the mold from the rice. Now you will have a nice little block of rice right on the nori. Add some of the cooked SPAM to the top. Wrap up one side of the nori and stick it to the top of the SPAM, then wrap up the other side. Just like you are wrapping a nice little package. Use a little water on your finger to seal if needed. Serve warm.
- Some like it dipped in soy sauce, some like it with ketchup, and some like it as is.
Can I substitute truvia for the sugar in the marinade?
Looking forward to this recipe.
Kathy
I think that would work!
Absolutely superb! I used two cups of dry sushi rice, and the amount was just right for 8 slices of Spam which was just the right thickness. These tasted better than the ones I had in Maui last week. I used “2.5 lines” worth of seaweed for each. Now I’m just wondering how well these will keep over the coming week wrapped in cling film individually. I have high hopes! Oh, and I didn’t bother with the tape on the Spam can…just was careful about the slightly jaggedy and no doubt super sharp edge. The marinade was amazing, and I only used half and am saving the rest for next time. Thank you for this recipe!
This was really good. My son really likes these and he said they were better than our local L&L. I only had jasmine rice instead of the sushi rice so I didn’t wash it as thoroughly and it was nice and sticky. Added water to the remaining marinade and reduced to a nice consistency before adding siracha. Was a nice dipping sauce. Great recipe.
Easy to follow! Turned out great, just like the ones we had in Hawaii. I made one change, subbed Hoisin for Oyster Sauce and added a bit of water to thin out. Wow!!
This is perfection! Better than ohana hawaiian bbq. This is the third recipe I’ve tried and it has absolutely blown my mind, and others love it so much too. Thank you for sharing it!
Is it better with white sugar or brown sugar?
I usually use white sugar!
Perfect & easy – thanks!
This is AMAZING if you do a soy sauce, Gyoza sauce, and Gochujang marinade! A dash of Gochujang on the rice before you put the Spam on makes it even better <3 10/10 would recommend
Hello,
Thanks for the recipe. Can I put a dollop of wasabi before wrapping, or does wasabi not go with spam musubi?
You can add wasabi if you’d like! It is not in traditional spam musubi, but I don’t think it would be bad.
i live in maui my whole entire life, spam musubi is also good
Musubi is such neat, easy, and fun snack. Tasty too!
This is THE one!! Perfection. I only used about 3 cups of cooked rice though, I like my rice to spam ratio a little more even. The sweetness of the marinade goes perfectly with low sodium spam.
Awesome simple recipe and great suggestion for using the can as the mold!
Just tried this. Came out PERFECT!!! The marinade was delicious and the mold made out of the can was an awesome idea!
Can you show how to use the triangle molds?
We don’t actually own the triangle molds for musubi, just the rectangle. I will have to check them out! Thanks for the head’s up!
Triangle molds are for Onigiri a Japanese rice ball, google for recipes. If you have a Japanese market in your city you can purchase there. Lots of you tube videos on the use of this mold.
Would it still taste good if I used other alternative flavors of spam, like hot and spicy spam?
Sure!
After these are made can you freeze if you don’t need all 8 servings?
Hi Phyllis – Rice actually doesn’t freeze very well. To store, we will wrap tightly and refrigerate and eat within a few days. It might be easiest to make smaller batches at a time rather than freeze for later. Musubi definitely tastes the best when it is fresh! Hope this helps!
Actually cooked rice freezes well. I’m not sure if the combination of these items would work out though.
Not sushi rice tho. All rice is not the same
I was very happy to see that someone actually wrote about Spam musubi! I am native Hawaiian and now living in West Texas where Spam musubis are unheard of. You can even make a thin layer of egg and add it to the musubi between the rice and the Spam. It’s soooo good! I hope your readers try this recipes and make it for their families.
I’m visiting Hawaii and ordered this yesterday at a restaurant. It was so good I went back today to order more!
Can you use jasmine rice?
Unfortunately, the jasmine rice won’t stick together the same way sushi rice or calrose rice does.
I am born and raised in Hawaii. Nobody I know who makes musubi marinates their Spam before frying! Just slice, fry, make musubi. This is a different recipe for Spam musubi, but it’s not what you buy in the stores in Hawaii. Auwe.
Yeah, no one I know in Hawai’i ever marinates their Spam, either. If anything, we always put a LITTLE oyster sauce on the rice before we put the Spam on.
Aloha all, I too am from Hawaii and normally we’ve never marinated the spam, but I do know a few that have tried this version and I must say it is wonderful! Like any other recipe, some people like myself love to experiment with recipes and much to my surprise, I really prefer my teriyaki musubi marinated. So now I make them both ways, depending on what I’m craving. Either way, both methods are very good!.
6 cups of sushi rice seems like a lot, are we using about half a cup per musubi/spam slice?
6 cups is what we usually use. If you have leftovers you can use it for sushi or fried rice!