How to Make Spam Musubi - FeedMi (2024)

How to make spam musubi! This is the best grab-and-go snack that’s sweet, savory, and super easy to make at home using this spam can hack!

What is Spam Musubi?

Spam Musubi is a popular Hawaiian snack.

It is made with spam on top of or in between rice and wrapped in nori seaweed.

In Hawaii, you can find spam musubis pretty much everywhere from convenience stores to mom and pop restaurants.

They are the perfect grab-and-go snack. It’s convenient, affordable, and so satisfying.

Unfortunately, spam musubis are not as common to find here on the mainland.

However, they are super easy to make at home.

In this step-by-step tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make spam musubi so you can enjoy this delicious Hawaiian snack no matter where you are!

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Ingredients for Spam Musubi

Before we dive into how to make spam musubi, you’ll need to gather the following ingredients:

• Spam: Spam is a canned pork. For this recipe, use Classic Spam or your favoritevarietysuch as low-sodium or other flavored options. Cut into 6 slices for the perfect spam to rice ratio.
• Glaze: The glaze is a sweet, savory, and sticky sauce made with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar that makes spam even tastier.
  • Soy Sauce: Soy sauce adds a salty, savory, and umami flavor. Use Kikkoman low-sodium soy sauce since spam is already salty.
  • Mirin: Mirin is a sweet cooking rice wine. It adds a nice flavor and sweetness to glazes.
  • Sugar: Sugar balances out the saltiness and caramelizes to create a thick and sticky glaze.
• Rice: Sushi rice or short-grain rice is the best for spam musubi because it is stickier and will stay together and hold its shape better.
• Seaweed: Seaweed acts as a wrap to help hold everything together. Use a full sheet and cut it into thirds. You will need 2 sheets to make 6 spam musubis.
• Furikake: Furikake is a Japanese rice seasoning that comes in different flavors. It generally consists of seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, and various seasonings. I like to use mishima, nori komi, or nori fume furikake.

How to Make Spam Musubi

Once you have all the ingredients, you can make spam musubi in just a few simple steps.

It is super quick and easy to make at home!

I also love making it at home because some places are so skimpy with the spam.

The recipe I’m sharing here is my perfect ratio of rice to spam.

Plus you don’t even need a fancy musubi mold. I’m going to show you a hack for how to make it using an empty spam can.

Let’s get started and walk through how to make spam musubi step-by-step together so you can easily recreate it and satisfy those cravings at home!

As always, there is a recipe card at the end that you to print out, pin to Pinterest, or save for later!

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Step 1: Cut and Fry Spam

As I mentioned before, the key to a good spam musubi is getting the ratio of spam to rice just right.

In my opinion, cutting a can of spam into exactly 6 slices is the magic number.

I hate biting into a spam musubi and barely tasting any spam and it’s mostly rice.

However, everyone has different preferences so adjust the thickness of the spam slices to your liking.

Also do not discard the can, save it for later to use as the musubi mold.

Once the spam is cut into slices, add them to a pan on medium heat.

Fry for about 3 minutes on each side or until it is nice and crispy.

No oil is needed to fry spam since it already contains fat similar to bacon.

Step 2: Glaze the Spam

To give the spam extra flavor and make it even tastier, coat it in a sweet soy sauce glaze.

Mix together soy sauce, mirin, and sugar to make the glaze.

Turn the the heat down to low so that the sugars in the sauce don’t burn.

Then pour it over the spam and simmer for about 2 minutes on each side or until it thickens a bit and becomes sticky.

This also gives the spam some time to soak up that delicious sauce.

Step 3: Assemble Spam Musubi

If you have a musubi mold, then definitely put it to use here.

However, no mold no problem!

The empty spam can be used as a musubi mold. It is the perfect shape for it!

Rinse off the empty spam can and line it with plastic wrap.

The plastic wrap will help the spam musubi to easily be removed from the can mold.

Make sure there is a little bit of the plastic wrap sticking out on top so that it is easier to pull out later as well.

Fill the can with a layer rice. I like to add about 2/3 cup of rice per spam musubi. You can adjust this amount to your liking.

Firmly press down with a spoon to even it out and make the rice stick together.

Add a sprinkle of furikake on top of the rice.

Finally, top with the glazed and fried spam.

Step 4: Remove Spam Musubi From the Mold

Once the spam musubi is assembled, pull the plastic wrap up to remove from the can mold.

With the plastic wrap still on, press firmly on all sides to further shape the musubi and help the rice stick together more.

Not pressing the rice firmly enough will cause the spam musubi to crumble and break apart as you eat.

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Step 5: Wrap Spam Musubi in Seaweed

Remove the plastic wrap from the spam musubi.

Cut a full nori seaweed sheet into 3 even strips.

Wrap a seaweed strip around the spam musubi.

To do this place the middle center of the seaweed strip on top of the spam side.

Then fold the sides so that the edges meet at the bottom of the rice side.

Repeat steps 3-5 to make the rest of the spam musubis.

Eat immediately or wrap individually in plastic wrap for an easy grab-and-go snack for later.

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Storage & Reheating

Store any leftover spam musubis for up to 3-4 days in the fridge.

Make sure they are either wrapped individually or stored in a sealed container to avoid drying out the rice.

To reheat, you can warm it up in the microwave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Time may vary depending on your microwave.

As a note, the seaweed will not be crispy. If you want crispy seaweed, you will have to to eat these immediately after you make them or add new seaweed.

More Snack Ideas

Once you try making spam musubi, here are some more quick and easy snacks you might like!

Save This Recipe for How to Make Spam Musubi!

I hope this step-by-step tutorial for how to make spam musubi is helpful and that you try to recreate this popular Hawaiian snack at home!

I love making these at home because I can get the rice to spam ratio just right and it’s super quick and easy.

Be sure to save this so you can make it whenever the craving hits and share this recipe with your family and friends!

Please leave a rating and comment below if you try it. I’d love to know what you think!

Did you make this recipe? I would love to see! Tag me on IG @feedmi_ or TikTok @feedmi

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