Spam Musubi

Hawaiian snack that is fun to make. My sons and their friends enjoy assembling their own Spam musubi rolls, and then eating them. The nori sheets and furikake seasoning can be found in the Asian food department of larger supermarkets. The rectangular rice press would be found at a kitchen speciality store, online sites such as Amazon.com or picked up on a trip to Hawaii for a few dollars.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Yields: 9 Snack rolls

Ingredients

• 5  cups short-grain rice
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (12 ounce) can  Spam
• 1⁄4 cup  shoyu or 1⁄4 cup soy sauce
• 1⁄4 cup white sugar
• 1⁄4 cup vinegar
• 1⁄2 cup water
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1  tablespoon cornstarch
• 1  teaspoon sesame seeds (furikake) or 1  teaspoon nori (furikake) or 1  teaspoon  bonito rice  seasoning (furikake)
• 1 (1 -2 ounce) package  sushi nori, roasted seaweed, cut in half
• 1⁄4 cup water, for sealing nori

Directions

1. Cook rice as directed in electric rice cooker. Lightly salt cooked rice.
2. Slice luncheon meat into 9 slices. Place into lightly oiled frying pan or non stick pan, and brown on both sides. Remove from pan.
3. To make sauce, reduce the temperature to low. Add shoyu, vinegar, sugar and ginger to frying pan. Stir until blended. Mix cornstarch with water, then add to frying pan. Stir and cook until thickened.
4. Turn off heat and add the luncheon meat slices to the frying pan, turning to coat the slices with sauce.
5. Assembly:
6. For the musubii rolls, you can use a cookie sheet as a prep surface for easy cleanup. First lay out a half sheet of the nori and center a rectangular rice press. The edges of the press should reach the width of the nori.
7. Fill Rice press half way with the rice, then press lightly. Add a luncheon meat slice. then sprinkle with rice seasoning (furikake) if desired. Fill mold the rest of the way with rice. Press down firmly. Carefully remove rice press.
8. Bring up one side of the nori and fold around the rice. Seal the sheets with a little water, by dipping your finger in the 1/4 cup of water and then rub the edge of the nori sheet. Fold up the other half of the sheet and press firmly to the wet edge to bond the sides together.
9. Repeat with remaining rice, placing the finished musubi seam side down on a plate.
10. Notes:
11. A little oil on the rice press will keep the rice from sticking.
12. You can slice each roll in half for smaller size party food.
13. In Hawaii, musubi is sold in many convenience stores. Besides Spam, other varieties sold include barbecue, teriyaki or cutlet style chicken.