Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Me and Spam

Not many people will admit it these days but everyone loves SPAM-I'm sure vegetarians have a secret longing for it too.
What else is so portable, long lasting and well-tasty?
Peanut butter. Yet good old PB lacks that protein punch.
One can of Spam has enough protein for 6 adults as a matter of fact.
Spam has kept our troops going for decades and lets face it-tastes better than SOS.
Perfect for camping, super quick busy day suppers and of course-nuclear holocaust.
Too salty you say-I have low blood pressure says I. ;P
And versatile? So very! I admit I have just a few recipes though.
My current favorite is Spam Musubi.
And it is so good!

Let's get started shall we?

Spam Musubi

Sushi rice

2 cups medium grain rice(risotto rice can be used)- Place the rice in a pot and cover with water, swirl with your hands and drain off the milky water-do this several times til the water is mostly clear and no longer milky.
2 1/4 cups water

I use a rice cooker and cook the rice according to it's directions. However if you do not have a rice cooker don't despair-perfect rice is obtainable on your stove top in a large pot with a tight fitting lid. Place the rice and the water in the pot and bring to a boil. Cover with the tight lid and let boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium for 4-5 minutes and then to low for 10 minutes, NEVER removing the lid. Remove pot from heat and let sit with the lid on and covered with a dishcloth for 10 minutes. Wallah-your rice should be perfect(it worked well for me before I got the rice cooker)

In a small pan combine over low heat:

1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Here's the trickiest part.

Put the cooked rice(still hot) into a large bowl and sprinkle/slowly pour the vinegar mixture over the rice. Lightly fold the rice with either forks or rice paddles to thouroghly coat the rice, being careful not to smash the grains. If you have a helper have them fan the rice as you are folding-this evaporates excess moisture and makes the rice shine.

The Spam

Open your can of Spam carefully-unless you want to spring for a musubi mold-you can transform it into a handy reusable mold. At one time the cans had keys and later each end was rolled. These days that is not the case but with a little luck and if you hold your tongue just right you can cut off the end with a hand held can opener.

Slice the Spam into 8 slices

Pan fry until as crispy as you like and then add to the pan:
2-3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce mixed with 1/4 cup water and continue cooking til each Spam slice sports a nice glaze.
Now you'll need to get your Nori ready(We are fortunate enough to have a couple of oriental stores here and the local Ingles and Bi-Lo carry a small selection of Japanese ingredients-everything needed for this recipe-if you can't find any locally I recommend Ichiban Kan-their prices are good and shipping is reasonable.

Cut the nori into strips that are nearly the same width as your mold of choice.

Place a nori strip under your mold and layer in a couple of tablespoons of sushi rice then a slice of Spam(with wasabi spread on it if you dare-I dare of course) and then a couple more tablespoons of rice. Place the former lid on top of your layers and press down-compacting your layers and sliding the mold up and off. Carefully peel away the press(former lid) and wrap the nori around your musubi, wetting the end to make the nori stick to itself.


Repeat until you have as many musubi as you had Spam slices and dig in.

Leftover rice should be used right away as it gets hard relatively quickly. We like to use it to make pineapple sushi, cucumber and carrot rolls, etc...all of which-including the musubi-will keep for several days in the fridge if tightly wrapped in clear plastic wrap-just pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds or so to soften up the rice.
Enjoy

22 comments:

Huff Daddy said...

Very nice! And easy to follow. Now I just have to do it.

Huff Daddy said...

Do any Vikings show up when you open the can?

Brook said...

HD-it is super easy and Very Nice indeed. Alas no Vikings have shown up at my door or elbow for that matter when I open the can.

Huff Daddy said...

hmmmm, perhaps if you served spam, bacon, sausage, and spam the Vikings would arrive?

Brook said...

HD-Or maybe spam spam spam eggs bacon and spam? ;)

The CEO said...

spam, spam, spam, thank you ma'am and the Mongols arrive. Writing my own script.

Brook said...

CEO(Monty!!!!!)Sir Spamalot you may do as you please! Hehehehe!

Dark Cloud Nine said...

oh :S (vegetarian with a side of Jew here so pork alert hiiiick!)
well. I do have cravings for peanut butter :D can we do the same with peanut butter? :p

Brook said...

DCN-well, how about some extra firm tofu well drained, marinated in a little soy sauce/sugar mix and then prepared the same way as the Spam? I think that would work quite well and be tasty too. As a matter of fact I think I have some tofu in the fridge. Might have to try it later in the week.

PorkStar said...

Nope, don't like it, don't love it. : (

Brook said...

PS-that's okay-everyone has their tastes, and I actually do respect a person's misgivings about Spam. It can be a scary proposition.

Spellbound said...

It looks pretty and I'm sure you're a fabulous cook, but I have no secret longing for Spam. I don't want to rock your boat on Spam nutrition but while each 2 oz serving has 7 grams of protein it also has 170 calories of which 140 are from fat, not to mention 750 mg of sodium and well, the nitrites. But of course, I'm weird about food. In fact, I will go out on an un-american limb and admit that I don't especially care for peanut butter either, although I will eat it if I'm desperate.

Huff Daddy said...

"The spam, eggs, sausage and spam hasn't got much spam in it."

I think this is like the state food of Hawaii that alone is worth it for me to try it.

WanderingGirl said...

No Spam. The end.

Brook said...

Spellbound-we all have our things-and for some of us it isn't Spam I know. I like you anyway. And I am just now enjoying my bottle of Spellbound. It is still delicious.
(though it seems to bring out my poorly disguised smartassedness)
Hope things aren't too awful in Iowa.

HD-You know it! I was skeptical. But now? The occasional indulgence does no harm. Moderation in all things I say. Even moderation at times!

Brook said...

WG-I will never fix you any Spam. Never. I swear on the waffles and whipped cream from Charlies!

Zach said...

the waffles sound great..the spam? not so much. Sorry-just can't do it.


this is Amy-Zach is logged on agin..oops ;)

Brook said...

Zach/Amy-I won't make you any Spam either okay? There's lots of other stuff out there just as tasty. Trust me I'm not proselytizing on Spam's behalf.

Nej said...

There's no way you can read a post about Spam and NOT think of Monty Python. I wonder if they get royalty checks from Spam....a cut of their marketing proceeds. :-)

Brook said...

Nej-wouldn't that just be hilarious-what about Spam-A-Lot on Broadway?

Nej said...

That had to have increased the check amounts!! :-) :-)

Spam-a-lot was here in Omaha, but I didn't get to see it. :-(

Brook said...

I would LOVE to see Spam-A-Lot! I love Monty Python and his Flying Circus. Staples in our house growing up-even moreso than Spam!