My Ode To Musubi

What you see up top is one of the best "on the go" foods ever created. Spam Musubi. That's right, spam! That meat in a can that seems to stay fresh for a very long time. Yet this humble little meal in your hand has a special place in my heart.

Years ago, for a short time, I lived on the island of Maui. Not long after arriving, Maui had stolen my heart. It was just beautiful. The travel shows get close to showing you how awesome it is, but you really need to be there yourself.

When you get to Maui, or any Hawaiian island, you have to hit the beach! Don't even bother unpacking. Get into your board shorts or bikini, and hit the waves head first! But all that beach play will quickly wear you out if you aren't prepared. This is where musubi comes into play.

You get yourself a couple musubi, a big ass gatorade, and baby you are set! It's nickname isn't the "Hawaiian Powerbar" for nothing. Rice, meat, nori, DONE. It's so simple, but very satisfying.

I wanted to make something in honor of this tasty bite, but I didn't want to stray too far from it's origin. Since it basically looks like a big sushi roll, I went with that as my base. Here's what I came up with.

There is only one recipe I did myself for this, and that's for the avocado sauce. I will post that at the end.

First things first: cook your rice. I used the Japanese short grain variety. Follow the directions on the bag for that one. When the rice is done, toss it with a little rice wine vinegar. You don't have to go crazy with the vinegar. Just a little will do.

Next, slice your spam thin and cook until you get a light brown coloring on it.

When cooled, get a small ring mold and cut the circles out of the spam. The trimmings can be chopped up and thrown in some scrambled eggs. NO WASTE!!

Before you add the rice in mold, spray a little non-stick on the inside of the mold. No non-stick spray? Use a little vegetable oil. Either way, it will help keep that rice from sticking.

Now for the sauces. The dark sauce is Hoison sauce. You can find this stuff at almost any super market now. The green sauce is something I slapped together. Here's the recipe:

1/2          Avocado (not too soft)
1/2          garlic clove
1 tbs        sour cream
                Juice from half a lime
                salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs         veg. oil

Throw it all in a blender and go to town on it until smooth.
Now, if you feel that recipe is missing something, or just doesn't taste quite right, by all means tinker with it! I did that on the fly. Anyway, now you're ready to plate up! Have fun with it!

Until next time, Take Care.

J. Miller