{"id":17639,"date":"2022-10-18T10:27:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T14:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/omnivorescookbook.com\/?p=17639"},"modified":"2024-12-24T10:57:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T15:57:03","slug":"spam-musubi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omnivorescookbook.com\/spam-musubi\/","title":{"rendered":"Barter-Worthy Spam Musubi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The spam is grilled until crispy, perfectly caramelized with soy sauce and sugar, and wrapped together with sushi rice. Made ahead of time, these Spam musubi are perfect for your lunchbox, appetizer platter, or potluck. They are also a fantastic game-day snack. This recipe uses just the right amount of seasoning to create a balanced flavor that\u2019s addictively tasty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Spam<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spam & Chinese cooking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The word Spam might make you think of high-sodium military rations. But in China, Spam is a popular ingredient that people use in comfort food. Spam and pepper stir fry, Spam omelet, Spam ramen<\/a>, Spam fried rice, or Spam sandwich. You name it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spam is also a common ingredient in Chinese Hot Pot<\/a> and Sichuan Mala Dry Pot<\/a> – a popular type of Chinese restaurant where you choose a spicy sauce and various ingredients that are cooked in it and then everything is served in a big pot. Every time I go to Mala Pot restaurants with friends, I remember to order a few slices of Spam and it\u2019s always the most popular ingredient in the pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spam is so intertwined with Chinese food culture that I\u2019d never considered Spam a foreign food until I moved the US. Then I started to wonder when it came to China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After some digging, I found out the following. According to Wikipedia<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn China, Hormel decided to adopt a different strategy to market Spam, promoting it as a foreign, premium food product and changing the Spam formula to be meatier in order to accommodate local Chinese tastes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, Hormel also decided to name it \u201cluncheon meat\u201d (\u5348\u9910\u8089) instead of Spam, to make it sound glamorous. No wonder. Back in old days, Spam was considered a fancy thing that people would serve for dinner on Chinese New Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Homemade<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Common Table Cookbook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This spam musubi recipe is slightly adapted from one in the cookbook A Common Table –  80 Recipes and Stories from My Shared Culture<\/a>, written by my friend Cynthia Chen McTernan, who is the author behind the award-winning blog Two Red <\/a>Bowls<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided to share her Spam Musubi recipe – a great representation of how Asian food inspired local cuisine and became a part of its culture. Even though I got to know this Hawaiian dish only after moving to the US, it makes me feel nostalgic because of the use of Spam, an ingredient that reminds me of time spent with family and friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hawaiian<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spam musubi Ingredients<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You only need a few very simple ingredients to make spam musubi:<\/p>\n\n\n\n