Skinny, Crispy, Nori-less Spam Musubi

It's been too long since i've written something meaningful, and trust me i've tried to rectify that. But this is not that post. Instead, I am going to let you peek into my kitchen and give you a quick, cheap, authentic local delicacy.

SPAM.

I'm sure if you live in Hawaii, you know what this is and have had a million different kinds of musubi. It would be weird if you didn't know what it was. But I bet you've probably never had it without nori.

Now, a lot of people will argue with me, saying it's not a "real" musubi without the nori. They think it's basically spam and rice, just molded into a little ball thing. Well, yeah, sure. But it's still a "real" musubi. What about musubi with ume in the center? I've seen many "plain" ones without a shred of seaweed. And technically, this musubi is nori-less, but NOT seaweed-less.

Ingredients:
- 1 can of SPAM (I like to use the less sodium version, since there will be lots of flavor added)
- Teriyaki Sauce (You can buy it bought, or make your own with soy sauce, sugar, and mirin (optional))
- 3 cups of white rice (You can substitute brown rice if you'd like, but the original recipe calls for white)(This yields 12 musubi)
-Furikake (I use the Mishima brand Nori Komi Furikake, which has sesame seeds in it)
- Saran Wrap
- Musubi maker (optional)

Prepare:
- Tear and lay 15 slices of saran wrap (5 inch x 5 inch pieces... though that may be too big, I just kind of wing it).
- Cut the spam into thin slices (about 12-15). This is where the "skinny" part comes in. These musubi will be flatter than the average spam musubi.
- Cook 3 cups of rice.
- Make the teriyaki sauce, and pour it into a bowl.
- Dip each slice into the sauce, and let it marinate for a few seconds, to a minute.

Directions:
- Fry the spam until crispy and browned (I do like mine slightly burned).
- While frying, empty the rice into a large bowl to cool off.


- Rinse your musubi maker (this helps the rice not to get stuck to it).
- Set up your musubi maker in the spot on the saran wrap where you'll want to place the musubi. I chose the right side, in the middle, but now that I think about it, the left side would have probably been better.


- Remove the spam from the pan/griddle after they are cooked and put them on a plate.


- Take a handful (or scoopful) of rice, and load it into the molder. I use less rice than most, contributing to the skinny factor. Since I have skinny slices, the rice should be proportionate. Mess around with it and make it how you like it.


- PRESS HARD. You do not want your musubi falling apart, especially because you have no nori holding it together.


- Take a spoonful of the leftover teriyaki sauce in your bowl, and dabble some on the rice for extra flavor.



- Sprinkle some furikake on the rice over the sauce.


- Put a piece of spam on top and wrap (or enjoy!).


I don't make this too often because the nutritional value isn't great, but it's nice to get back to childhood sometimes. Having a spam musubi just the way I like it transports me through time and space, back to fun summers, friends, and family. Live aloha. :)