Deep Fried Spam Musubi

Yes, that's right, your eyes aren't deceiving you!  It not just spam musubi but deep fried spam musubi! Spam Musubi on it's own is completely delicious. The salty spam, vinegary seasoned rice, the sweet teriyaki sauce with that touch of nori is so unbelievably awesome. It makes me drool! So you can imagine how giddy I got when I read on a menu Deep Fried Spam Musubi.

I first have this delicious treat at  Da Kitchen Cafe in Maui. They're known for this special dish. It was such a wonderfully executed dish, that I dream about this musubi!  It had all the attributes of a traditional spam musubi, but now it's crunchy & crispy. It elevates this humble Hawaii favorite into a more special treat.

It's been 2 years since I've had this salty treat. I been quite deprived. Since I can't justify a plane ticket just for deep fried spam musubi, I must make my own. I've never made musubi, so I asked a dear friend to talk me through the basics, she even let me borrow her musubi press. You don't need this press, you can totally used the Spam can as a substitute. She's never deep fried a musubi, so that part I had to play by ear. It turned out to be super simple, don't let the amount of steps fool or scare you.

Now if you don't want to deep fried every piece of musubi,  you can wrap the musubi with nori in different ways. You can wrapped in a whole sheet of nori. You can cut the nori in strips and use 1 strip per musubi or if you're my husband you opt for no nori. He's just not a seaweed eater so I also omit the furikake seasoning, so I adjust tradition for him. Even without the seaweed it still was yummy, but for me the nori gives a delicious sea flavor that is part of the magic of spam musubi. Now if you are deep frying you need to wrap the musubi in the whole sheet and let it set in the fridge. These steps are important to help keep it's shape and to prevent the rice from coming apart. 

I hope you take this trip down memory lane with me and enjoy a taste of Hawaii. Aloha!

Buen Provecho!

Combine equal parts soy sauce & sugar. Reserve a 1/4 cup of sauce.

Cut into 8-10 pieces

Marinade spam with sauce for at least 5-10 minutes.

If you don't have a musubi press you can make one out of the can. It's a little tricky and takes a bit of time. I used a can opener and scissors. I add the foil on the bottom to protect from some sharp edges. BE VERY CAREFUL!

Cut nori strip and place can on top of nori.

Season rice with seasoned rice wine vinegar.

Pan fry spam.

Press rice until compact.

Sprinkle a little furikake & drizzle a bit of the reserved sauce.

Add a slice of spam.

Add rice, press, wrap with nori. Seal with a bit of water.

If using press, place press on top of nori.

Add rice, press, sprinkle furikake, drizzle sauce, spam, rice, press. I put a piece of plastic wrap between the rice and press, it makes it keeps from the rice to sticking to the press.

Nicely press! Look at that beauty!

Seal and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Allow it to set.

Prepare breading station.

Dip in egg then cover in panko.

Fry until golden brown.

Perfection! Look at the golden brown goodness!

Salty, sweet and amazingly crunchy!! Enjoy! Aloha!

Deep Fried Masubi - yields 8-10 musubi

Ingredients:

1 can Spam, sliced into 8 to 10 pieces
3 cups Cooked Rice, warm - 1 cup uncooked rice & 2 cups water
1-2 Tbsp Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar, to taste
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Sugar
Furikake, japanese rice seasoning
4-5 Nori sheets (roasted seaweed), if wrapping in whole sheet, 3 sheets are enough if cutting 2 inch strips
1 Tbsp oil

For deep frying:
1 egg
1 cup panko crumbs
Oil for frying

Side Note: Furikake & Nori sheets can be found readily in Asian markets or in the Asian aisle in big supermarkets.

Road Map:

1. Cook the rice.

Take 1 cup of uncooked rice and rinse several time until water is clear and no longer cloudy. In a medium, heavy-bottomed pot add the cup of rice and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil and add salt to taste. Stir to combine the rice, lower the heat to low and cover. Let the rice cook for about 15- 20 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. Remove form heat and let it rest for a few minutes. Take a fork and fluff the rice.  Mix in rice wine vinegar to rice, to taste. You want more sweet than sour.

2. Slice Spam into 8 to 10 pieces. 

3. Combine soy sauce & sugar into a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of sauce.  Place spam in remaining marinade for about 5 minutes.

4. Put a sauce pan on medium heat, add 1 tbsp of oil and pan fry the spam. Add some of the marinade to coat spam and thicken sauce. Cook until spam is caramelized.

5. Place a whole sheet of nori down. Place musubi press on top, or your Spam can. If using spam can or a small musubi press you can cut the nori in half to make it easier to make the musubi.

6. Add rice and press down until you have 1/4 inch of rice, or however tall you like.

7.Sprinkle furikake on rice.

8. Add a drizzle of the reserved sauce, this step is optional. I like the extra sweetness.

9. Place a slice of Spam on top and add another mound of rice. Press down to compact the rice. Remove press/can. Wrap the spam, using a bit of water to seal the edges. Ready to eat and enjoy!

If deep frying keep going:

10. Wrap ready made musubi in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour, enough time for the rice to set up.

11. Prepare oil. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot.

12. Prepare breading station. Place whisked egg and panko in separate dishes/bowls.

13. Place musubi in egg and then in panko. Make sure it is completely covered in panko for a crispy exterior.

14. Fry until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. When cool to touch, using a serrated knife cut diagonally. Enjoy!