Spam Musubi ( recipe Gena Sakahara-Gonzales )
1 cup brown rice 1 cup short grain rice 1 can low sodium Spam 1 / 3 cup favorite teriyaki sauce 1 Tbsp oil 2 Tbsp furikake * ( Japanese seaweed rice seasoning ) 4-5 sheets of nori *( dried sushi seaweed ) or a package of snack nori which can be purchased in the Asian aisle of grocery store )
Kaiden making Spam Musubi with an acrylic sushi mold .
Carrot and Daikon Slaw
2 ½ cup shredded carrots 2 ½ cup shredded daikon 2 Tbsp minced parsley ( optional ) 1 Tbsp black sesame seeds ( optional )
Slaw Dressing : 6 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar 2 Tbsp sugar 1 clove garlic , minced 1 tsp ginger , minced ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp ground pepper
Mix carrot and daikon in a bowl . Mix all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until sugar dissolves . Refrigerate vegetables and dressing separately until ready to serve . Toss together and garnish with either parsley or black sesame . Serves 10 .
—— Sometimes it is difficult to find all the Asian ingredients in these recipes at your local grocery store . Gena Sakahara-Gonzales suggests you take a little adventure and go to an authentic Asian market like Santo Market on Taylor Street or Nijiya Market on Jackson Street , both in San Jose . Another possibility is Mitsuwa Marketplace on Saratoga Avenue , also in San Jose . While there , pick up some great soup !
Prepare rice according to package directions or if using a rice cooker , wash rice thoroughly . Add 3 cups of water and cook .
While rice is cooking , slice spam into 9-10 segments depending on how many musubi you ’ d like to make . Fry spam in oil , flipping until there is some light browning on the spam . Add teriyaki sauce and let simmer and bubble . We like to turn spam often and simmer on low for 3-5 minutes to thicken the sauce . Once done , set aside .
Once the rice is cooked and cooled a bit , start preparing your assembly line and set all the items in arms distance ; cutting board , spam , rice , furikake , nori and sharp knife . Fill a medium sized bowl with water . Wet hands and utensils are the secret to not driving yourself crazy with rice ! Asian markets and Amazon also sell spam musubi molds . They are invaluable for making neat rectangular musubi . They also have single molds and ones that fit 2 ½ pieces of spam ( the best if you are making a tray of small pieces ). We like the acrylic sushi molds .
Lay a piece of nori on cutting board . Dip the musubi maker in water to moisten and lay musubi maker across the sheet of nori matching the size to your mold . If making a single musubi the size of the spam , cut the nori sheet in half . Spoon rice into the mold and press down to flatten . If you don ’ t have a musubi mold you will do this by hand , using the bottom of a glass to flatten and mold . Remember to use wet hands and utensils so rice doesn ’ t stick to everything .
Next layer , snack sized piece of nori . Add spam segments and we like to spoon extra teriyaki sauce onto spam . Spoon more rice on top and sprinkle furikake . Use mold to flatten the whole segment . TIP- don ’ t add too much rice . You want an even flavor of spam and rice . If you make a too thick a layer of rice , you will have a bland musubi .
Once the musubi is mushed together , carefully slip off the outer mold and remove top mold segment . Starting with the nori closest to you , wrap up over the musubi . Gently , roll the musubi until the whole segment is covered . Moisten your finger and wet the edge of the nori . This will allow the seam to stick and your musubi to stay covered and tight .
—— Google Spam Musubi recipe and there are lots of videos that can walk you through the process . Dip a sharp knife in water and then slice musubi into whatever sizes you wish . There are lots of variations . You can add scrambled eggs , hot dogs or chicken teriyaki . Really , whatever your family enjoys . Musubis can be wrapped in plastic wrap but need to be eaten within 24-36 hours .
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN APRIL / MAY 2018 gmhtoday . com
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