Your girl is FINALLY trying to get aboard the TikTok wagon (follow me there!), so it’s the perfect time to bring back the viral wrap hack that first blew up o n TikTok a year ago for the EASIEST way to make SPAM musubi! Because even though I’ve used the #WrapHack to make everything from Taco Bell Crunchwraps to tuna melts, I never actually discovered the trend on TikTok since the app didn’t work in Hong Kong unless you did special things to your phone. I never got around to figuring it out until now, so here I am late to the game both in trying to grow my TikTok following AND in sharing this SPAM musubi hack 😅 I originally recorded this video last year, but never finished editing in all the cookbook craziness, but I promise it’s worth the wait!
What is SPAM musubi?
This popular Hawaiian snack is similar to Japanese omusubi (hence the name!), a rice ball wrapped in dried nori (seaweed) but with SPAM instead of sashimi, fish, or meat. SPAM is incredibly popular in Hawaii, going back to World War II since the canned meat product was a staple at military bases, which then became adopted by into local cuisine (this is also the reason you see SPAM all over the Philippines and Korea).
You can find SPAM musubi EVERYWHERE in Hawaii, from gas stations and 7-11 to local places like my absolute favorite Musubi Cafe Iyasume that I visit multiple times during each trip back to Hawaii. They have a wide variety of SPAM musubi on their menu, topped with everything from eel, egg and avocado (my favorite) to more Japanese-influenced shiso leaves or takuan (pickled radish). Use these as inspiration for building your musubi with the wrap hack.
Why use the Wrap Hack?
Typically, SPAM musubi is shaped in a rounded rectangle like SPAM. You either need a special musubi mold or you have to line the can with plastic wrap. From there, you need to scoop the rice in, layer your ingredients to fit into the mold/can and press everything down.
Using the wrap hack eliminates the need for single-use, plastic equipment and plastic wrap (the planet will thank you!) AND it’s just easier to easily layer your ingredients on a flat surface instead of trying to fit things into a small mold/can.
I also like that using the whole nori sheet gives you a mega musubi since I always think that one musubi isn’t enough, but if you did want to make them smaller, you could just cut the nori in half lengthwise to make 2 musubis with one nori sheet that are the same shape as a slice of SPAM as pictured above.
While I absolutely love SPAM, this would also be delicious with any other typical sushi or omusubi topping, like sashimi-grade fish, imitation crab, or teriyaki chicken. I’ve layered the musubi with sushi rice, egg, avocado, kewpie mayo, and Japanese seasonings, but you could easily add toppings like kimchi, cheese, cucumbers, pickles, or anything else. Tag me in your SPAM musubi wrap hack creations so I can see what you come up with!
SPAM Musubi with the Tik Tok Viral Wrap Hack
Ingredients
Sushi rice:
- (Substitute with 1 1/2 cups plain cooked rice)
- 1/2 cup uncooked Japanese short grain rice
- 1/2 cup water (or according to your rice cooker)
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Teriyaki SPAM:
- (Substitute with sashimi slices, imitation crab, teriyaki chicken, etc)
- 7 oz. SPAM, thinly sliced into 8 pieces for more teriyaki sauce coverage or thickly sliced into 4 pieces (I always use low sodium)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake (substitute with more mirin)
Scrambled Egg (Optional):
- 2 tbsp butter or oil
- 4 eggs, beaten
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions
Musubi Assembly:
- 4 sheets of dried nori for sushi
- Kewpie mayo to taste (optional)
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced (optional)
- Togarashi and furikake to taste (optional)
- Cheese slices, pineapple rings, grilled eel, shiso leaves, takuan, or other toppings of choice (optional)
Instructions
- If using plain white rice, skip ahead to step 5.
- Wash the rice. Run it under cold water in a bowl while swirling the rice with your hand, pouring out the cloudy water at least six times until the water is mostly clear. You can also put the rice in a fine mesh sieve or colander to wash the rice. Drain as much water as you can, then set aside.
- Cook the rice. The best way to do this is in a rice cooker—add enough water until it reaches halfway to the 1-cup line marker in the rice cooker pot (typically 1/2 cup of water). Add a sheet of kombu on top, if using, so it’s submerged in the water and rice, then cook according to the rice cooker’s settings for white or sushi rice. To make this on a stovetop, bring the rice, 1/2 cup of water and kombu to boil over medium heat in a saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid. Once the water is bubbling all over the top, cover it and turn the heat down to low and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the water has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for another 10 to 15 minutes.
- Season the rice. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the rice vinegar. Transfer the hot, cooked rice to a large mixing bowl, then drizzle on the rice vinegar and use a rice paddle or spatula to slice into the rice at 45-degree angles and scoop it so you fold it onto itself to evenly coat the rice in the rice vinegar. Using this slicing method instead of stirring the rice will prevent clumps and help steam escape. To further cool down the rice, you can do this process in front of a fan or use your free hand to manually fan the rice as you slice into it.
- Cook the SPAM. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the SPAM, cooking to desired level of crispiness on both sides.
- Make the teriyaki sauce. Combine the soy sauce, mirin, and sake in a small bowl, then add to the crispy SPAM and cook over medium until the sauce reduces to a glaze, turning the SPAM to evenly coat in sauce.
- Cook the scrambled egg. You can either cook each egg one at a time, or cook them all at once and cut the eggs into 4 pieces later. Heat the butter or oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-low. Pour in the beaten eggs and wait for the edges to set, then use a rubber spatula to gently push the edges toward the center, shaping the egg into a square until most of the liquid has cooked. Turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the pan to finish cooking from the residual heat for 30 seconds to a minute, adding the scallions on top if using. Set aside.
- Wrap hack time! Cut a nori sheet halfway down the middle.
- In the first quadrant next to the cut, scoop 2-3 tbsp of the sushi rice and press it into the nori sheet in the shape of a square. Drizzle with Kewpie mayo and top with 1/4 of the avocado, if desired.
- In the next quadrant, add the scrambled egg if using. Substitute it with any other desired toppings.
- In the next quadrant, add 2 slices of SPAM or your chosen protein in an even layer.
- In the final quadrant, add another 2-3 tbsp of the sushi rice and top with togarashi and furikake, or your choice of toppings or seasonings.
- Fold the musubi onto itself, starting with the 1st quadrant with rice and avocado and ending with the rice with seasonings.
- Best enjoyed immediately while the nori is still crispy!
Notes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see the final product. Tag your stories and posts on Instagram with @IndulgentEats and #IndulgentRecipes so I can see them!
