SPAM MUSUBI

 Japanese cuisine has influenced many Western and Asian dishes where certain Japanese ingredients or cooking methods are used to create new delicious and exciting recipes. Among the popular ones are Omurice, Japanese Siomai, Kani Salad, Menchi Katsu, and Spam Musubi.

INGREDIENTS

SUSHI RICE:

2 cups uncooked rice

2-3 cups water for cooking rice depending on the kind of rice

3 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar, optional

1 tablespoon sugar optional

1 teaspoon salt optional

1 tablespoon oil

1 can Spam 12oz/340g, cut into 8 slices

2-3 pcs Nori sheets cut into 1.5- inch wide pieces.

SAUCE:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons mirin or water if not available

INSTRUCTIONS

2 cups uncooked rice,2-3 cups water for cooking rice

Rinse the rice and drain. Cook rice in the rice cooker as usual but add a bit more water to make it stickier than usual, if needed.

1 can Spam,1 tablespoon oil

While waiting for the rice to cook, heat oil in a large pan over medium heat and fry the spam slices until browned and crisp on both sides, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate for now. Don’t remove the oil from the pan yet, it will be used later.

SUSHI RICE:

3 tablespoons rice vinegar,1 tablespoon sugar,1 teaspoon salt

Mix the rice vinegar, salt, and sugar in a small bowl, and mix well until sugar is dissolved. Once the rice is cooked, transfer to a bowl and pour the mixture into the freshly cooked rice and toss until evenly distributed. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid to keep it moist for now.

2 tablespoons soy sauce,2 tablespoons sugar,2 tablespoons mirin

In the same pan used for frying the spam, add the ingredients for the sauce. Let it simmer to reduce and thicken a bit. Add back the fried spam and continue to simmer until most liquid is absorbed by the spam, turning it once or twice. Turn off the heat and allow to cool down a bit.

ASSEMBLY:

Transfer the sushi rice to a square or rectangle baking dish or container, spreading it evenly then pressing it down compactly. It should be about 2 cm high. Tip the compacted sushi rice into a clean cutting board.

Cut the compacted rice into 8 rectangles the same size as the spam slices.

2-3 pcs Nori sheets

On a plate or cutting board, lay a piece of nori. Place a slice of spam on top of one end of the nori. Take a piece of sushi rice and place it on top of the spam. Roll up the nori around the spam and rice. Lightly wet the other end of the nori to seal the roll. If rice is too sticky, wet your hands a bit before handling it.

Transfer finished musubi on a serving plate, seam-side down.

You may also add flat scrambled eggs, cucumber slices, or avocado slices for variety

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