Spam Musubi Fried Rice
Inspired By Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival
Spam Musubi Fried Rice featuring caramelized spam in a soy brown sugar sauce, fried rice with egg, and a spicy mayo, this dish hits all the right notes for me. Topped with my favorite Furikake Rice Seasoning, it is texture and taste perfection.
I had Spam Musubi when I was visiting Hawaii and loved it. I never thought to attempt making it at home until I was at Disney’s Food and Wine Festival recently and I was treated to a fried rice version that I knew I could replicate.
I am sure glad I did! It was a fairly quick and easy recipe to create and it would be really good for meal prep.
There are a couple of possibly unique ingredients, some of which I will highlight below.
What Is Furikake Rice Seasoning?
I cooked for a Taiwanese family for a long time and Furikake was always on the table. This was not a new ingredient to me, but it may be to you.
Furikake is a Japanese product and the word literally means “to sprinkle.” There are many flavors of furikake but typically it is an all-purpose seasoning made from salty seaweed, sesame seeds, and dried fish flakes.
It is made of the perfect flavors for salty Asian dishes.
You may have never spotted this in a grocery store, but it is there if you look. I always find it in the Asian food aisles now.
If you cannot find it, there is furikake on Amazon for a fairly reasonable price that you can order.
The flavors of this seasoning are nutty, salty, and slightly fishy. If you do not like any of these flavors, you can sub Everything But The Bagel Seasoning for this rice dish.
What Is Spam?
Spam is basically a pork lunch meat that is very popular in Hawaii. It was introduced during WWII with the soldiers and became popular with Hawaiians due to its affordability and ease of preparation.
Spam Musubi became a popular Hawaiian dish. Typically this is a rice cake with a piece of grilled spam on top and wrapped in a piece of seaweed.
It is a popular snack in Hawaii and is representative of the cultural melting pot of eastern and western food traditions.
While the Spam may not be appealing to you, I can assure you that when prepared this way where it is caramelized and has a great sauce, it is quite delicious.
In Hawaii when we would go to McDonald’s for breakfast and the Big Breakfast even came with a piece of grilled Spam.
Day Old Is Best for Fried Rice
Whenever you make fried rice, it is best to use day old rice. It fries up better.
I have always used day old rice when I make my Bacon and OnionFried Rice. When it is time to scramble your eggs, you will make a hole in the center of the rice to scramble in.
I use a pan that does not stick, but you MAY need to add a little bit of butter to the center before adding your eggs if you are worried it will stick.
Spam Musubi Fried Rice Recipe
Spam Musubi Fried Rice is a dish all people who love Asian cuisine will adore. Easy to make and more than delicious to eat.
Ingredients
- 1 twelve ounce can of Spam *pictured in post
- 4 cups of Cooked Rice *it is advised to cook the rice the day before and let it sit overnight in the fridge
- 6 to 8 Green Onions
- 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce + two additional tablespoons of Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons of Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon of White Pepper
- 1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
- 6 tablespoons of Rice Vinegar *divided
- 1/2 cup of Mayo
- 1 tablespoon of Chili Garlic Sauce or Sriracha *pictured in post
- Furikake Seasoning *picture, link and explanation in post
- 3 tablespoons of Butter
- 2 tablespoons of Cooking Oil of your choice
- 2 Eggs
Instructions
- To make the Spam, remove from the can, pat dry, and cut into small, bite-sized cubes. Add a tablespoon of butter to your skillet, add the Spam, and sauté for 15 minutes until the cubes are caramelized on all sides.
- Cut your green onions and separate the white and green parts. Finely slice both and keep them separate. Add the whites to the spam as it cooks but before you add the sauce below.
- While the spam cooks, mix 1/4 cup of soy sauce with 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar and the 2 tablespoons of brown sugar along with the white pepper and the garlic powder. Whisk until well combined. When the Spam cubes are caramelized, add this sauce to the skillet and sauté while bringing it to a simmer. Let this simmer for 10 to 12 minutes then remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add your mayo to a bowl and add your chili sauce or sriracha. Add 3 tablespoons of the rice vinegar and mix well to combine. Set aside for a topping.
- Add the remaining butter and the cooking oil to the same skillet you cooked the Spam in, letting it get hot and use your spatula to scrape up the bits on the bottom. Add your cooked rice to the pan when the oil and butter is hot but not smoking. In a bowl mix the 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and the remaining rice vinegar. Cook the rice and let it get golden brown. I had to break up the rice as it cooked. When the rice is warm and getting toasted, add the soy sauce and rice vinegar mixture. Continue to sauté the rice. When the rice has mostly absorbed the sauce, make a spot in the center and crack your two eggs. Scramble the eggs in the center and then stir them into the rice. When this is all well combined and cooked up, add half of the green onions.
- To serve, add the fried rice to a bowl, top with as much Spam as you like, a drizzle of the mayonnaise sauce, a few shakes of the furikake seasoning, and some green onions.