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History of Spam
Hawaiians have a love affair with Spam - they eat
it as a delicacy, adding it to soups and stews, treating it as a side dish for
breakfast, and enjoying it as the main event for lunch and dinner. Residents of
Hawaii consume more Spam than populations anywhere else in the world: More than
four million cans every year, or an average twelve cans of Spam per person per
year. In fact, Hawaii is so well associated with Spam that Hormel even
introduced a limited edition "Hawaii" can in 2003.
The Hormel Company, in Austin, Minnesota, developed America's first canned ham in 1926. After the
ham's were cut, the company was left with thousands of pounds of nearly
worthless pork shoulder. Jay C. Hormel, son of Hormel founder George A. Hormel,
developed the ideas of using the pork shoulder in a new product called "Hormel
Spiced Ham." Since the name was rather uninspiring, a contest was hehld at a new
year's Eve party for a new name with a $100 prize to the winner. The winning
name was the name it goes by today - Spam. Kenneth Daigneau, an actor and the
brother of a Hormel vice president Ralph Daigeau, won the contest.
During World War II, sales of Spam soared. In part because it requires no
refrigeration, Spam was perfect for the military and became a standard K-ration
for U.S. soldiers. Military personnel introduced it in Hawaii and elsewhere.
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Hawaiian Spam
Musubi Recipe
A favorite Hawaiian way to eat Spam is in the form of a musubi (pronounced
moo-soo-bee, with no accent). It is a fried slice of spam on rice pressed
together to form a small block, then wrapped with a strip of seaweed.
A special
kitchen gadget, known as the Spam Musubi Maker (see photo below), is responsible for the
proliferation of this treat. It is a special plexiglas mold with the outline of
a single Spam slice.
The Spam musubi is eaten as a sandwich, and it is perhaps
the Island's favorite "to go" or snack food. Spam musubi is literally everywhere
in Hawaii, including local convenience stores, grocery stores, school
cafeterias, and even at the zoo. Eating a Spam musubi seems to serve as a rite
of passage for newcomers anxious to attain "local" status.
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Photos of different
ways of forming Spam Musubi
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3 cups uncooked short- or medium-grain rice
4 cups water
5 sheets of sushi nori (seaweed in big squares)
1 (12-ounce) can Spam luncheon meat
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup rice wine (mirin)
Water
Wash rice, stirring with your hand, until
water runs clear. Place rice in a saucepan with water; soak 30 minutes.
Drain rice in colander and transfer to a heavy pot or rice cooker; add 4
cups water. If you don't have a rice cooker, place rice and water into a
large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring just to a boil, reduce
heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and leave
pan, covered, for 15 additional minutes.
Cut nori in half widthwise. Place cut nori in a resealable plastic bag to keep
from exposing the nori to air (exposing the nori to air will make it tough and
hard to eat).
Cut Spam into 8 rectangular slices approximately 1/4-inch thick. In a large ungreased frying pan over medium heat (Spam has plenty of grease to keep
it from sticking), fry slices until brown and slightly crispy. remove from heat,
drain on paper towels, and set aside.
In a small saucepan over high heat, add soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine;
bring just to a boil, then remove from heat. Add fried Spam slices to soy sauce
mixture, turning them to coat with the sauce; let spam slices sit in marinade
until ready to use.
In a small bowl, add some water to use as a sealer for the ends of the nori
wrapper; set aside.
 Using a Spam Musubi press, place a piece of nori on a plate. Position press on
top of the nori so the length of the press is in the middle of the nori
(widthwise). The press and the width of the nori should fit exactly the length
of a slice of Spam. (Note: If you don't have a musubi maker, you can use the
empty Spam can by opening both sides, creating a musubi mold.)
Spread approximately 1/4 cup cooked rice across the bottom of the musubi maker,
on top of the nori; press rice down with flat part of the press to compact the
rice until it is 1/4-inch thick (add more rice if necessary). Place a slice of
Spam on top of the rice (it should cover most of the length of the musubi
maker). Cover with an additional 1/4 cup cooked rice; press until 1/4-inch
thick. remove the musubi from the press by pushing the whole stack down (with
the flat part of the press) while lifting off the press. Fold one end of nori
over the musubi and press lightly onto the rice. Wet the remaining end slightly
with water, then wrap over musubi and other piece of nori; press down on the
other end. cut log into 4 pieces. Repeat with the other 7 Spam slices, making
sure to rinse off musubi maker after each use to prevent if from getting too
sticky.
Do not refrigerate musubi, as they will get dry and rubbery.
Makes 32 musubi.
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