Food Network Kitchen’s Hawaiian Shoyu Musubi, as seen on Food Network.
Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen

Hawaiian Shoyu Musubi

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  • Level: Intermediate
  • Total: 40 min
  • Active: 40 min
  • Yield: 24 pieces
Presenting an all-time favorite Hawaiian snack: shoyu musubi. It involves slices of Spam seared to crispy perfection and caramelized until salty-sweet. Although it’s often served as a slice of Spam on rice, all bound together with a sheet of nori, this recipe makes cute little sushi roll-style bites instead.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Cut the Spam into 6 slices and pat the slices dry with paper towels. Wash and dry the Spam can, then line the inside with a sheet of plastic wrap.
  2. Whisk together the soy sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl. 
  3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Spam slices and cook, flipping once, until evenly brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the soy sauce mixture to the skillet, making sure to scrape in all of the sugar, and quickly flip the Spam slices to coat them. Turn off the heat, leaving the Spam in the skillet to continue absorbing the sauce as it cools. 
  4. Add 3 tablespoons of rice to the Spam can, dipping the tablespoon measure in cold water as needed to prevent the rice from sticking. Use the back of the tablespoon to pack the rice into a level, compact layer. Top the rice with a generous pinch of furikake and a slice of Spam. Add 3 more tablespoons of rice and pack the rice into an even layer. Grasp the plastic wrap to lift the rice-Spam stack out of the can.  
  5. Place a sheet of nori on a clean work surface rough-side up. Transfer the rice-Spam stack to the center of the nori--so its length is perpendicular to the length of the nori. Tightly fold one end of the nori up over the rice-Spam stack. Dab water across the second end of the nori, tightly fold it up over the first end and press to seal the seam. Flip the musubi over so the seam side faces down. Repeat with the remaining rice, furikake, Spam slices and nori, replacing the plastic wrap with a new sheet every time.  
  6. Dampen a sharp knife with cold water and carefully slice each roll crosswise into 4 pieces.