I don't know what it is about spam but I absolutely love it. Any time I spot a spam musubi, I have to get it. The salty canned meat just pairs so perfectly with egg and rice. Okay so it might not sound like the most appetizing combo but what if we took it to the next level? Instead of a basic spam musubi, how about a spam egg and pineapple fried rice musubi? Sear the spam in a spicy sweet-salty glaze and wrap it with homemade pineapple fried rice and perfectly cooked egg. Sounds delicious, no?
Recipe
Spam Egg and Pineapple Fried Rice Musubi
Ingredients
Pineapple fried rice
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 shallots minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup pineapple finely chopped
- 2 cups day old rice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
Spam
- 6 ounces spam sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon oil
Eggs
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon instant dashi powder
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil
Remaining ingredients
- 2 sheets nori cut into thirds lengthwise
Instructions
- Prepare the pineapple fried rice. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan or wok over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots and garlic until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the pineapple and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the rice, breaking it up as it reheats. Season the rice with soy sauce, fish sauce, curry powder, and sugar, stirring until well combined. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped cilantro. Let cool slightly.
- Marinate the spam. Combine the soy sauce with sugar and sriracha, mixing until the sugar has dissolved. Coat the spam in the sauce and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the eggs. Whisk together the eggs with water, salt, dashi powder, and white pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Add the eggs and cook until the eggs have set. Remove from heat and cut into 6 pieces the same size as the spam.
- In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of oil and sear the spam until caramelized and browned on both sides, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Assemble the musubi. Use a musubi mold and place it on top of a cut sheet of nori. Press about ⅓ cup of the pineapple fried rice in the bottom. Lay a piece of egg on top followed by a slice of spam. Remove the mold and wrap the nori around the spam, egg, and fried rice. Repeat with the remaining musubi. Serve immediately.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
A basic spam musubi consists of just plain white rice and seared spam. Don't get me wrong, it's good. But I wanted to add more flavors and add a sweet element. That's where pineapple fried rice enters the picture. Plus, it just made sense to incorporate pineapple in this Hawaiian snack.
To make the pineapple fried rice you're going to need day-old rice, shallots, garlic, pineapple, soy sauce, fish sauce, curry powder, sugar, and cilantro.
Saute the shallots and garlic until aromatic, about 1 minute. Then, add the chunks of pineapple and saute until it becomes slightly caramelized. Make sure you cut the pineapple small enough so that there's a uniform amount throughout the rice. It'll also make it easier to assemble the spam egg and pineapple fried rice musubi later on.
Next, add the day-old rice, breaking up the rice as it heats. You want to use day-old rice for fried rice since fresh rice can get mushy. Add the seasonings, stirring until every grain of rice is seasoned. Toss in some chopped cilantro and let the rice cool slightly.
Meanwhile, prepare the remaining ingredients. Marinate the spam in the spicy teriyaki sauce for 5 minutes, then sear on a saute pan. The sriracha adds just a touch of spicy to the spam but you can omit it if you prefer.
Whisk a couple of eggs with dashi powder, water, white pepper, and salt and cook them in a nonstick saute pan to create an "omelet." The dashi powder will add a savory element to the eggs. The seasoning is actually similar to how you would prepare savory tamagoyaki although the cooking method is different.
Now it's time to make the spam egg and pineapple fried rice musubi. If you have the musubi mold, now is the perfect time to use it. However, if you're like me and don't own the mold, you can make your own using the spam can.
Clean the spam can and very carefully remove the top and bottom. Wrap the cut edges with clean duct tape to prevent you from getting any cuts and there you have it! Rustic, sure, but it works.
Place the musubi mold at the end of the nori strip and pack in the pineapple fried rice. Lay a strip of the egg followed by the spam, then remove the mold. Roll up the musubi, wrapping it in the nori, and repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Just when you thought spam musubi was already tasty, have a bite of this version and discover a whole new world! The spam egg and pineapple fried rice musubi are so incredibly flavorful, giving you a little salty with sweetness in every bite. Now if I could have this all the time I will be a happy camper!
For more rice inspiration check out this omurice with kimchi fried rice!
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