Spam musubi: Yes, they really are good. Photo by bandita/Flickr (Creative Commons)
Hawaiian cuisine is perhaps the original Asian fusion cuisine, a mix of tastes that has evolved over centuries of immigration to the islands.
Those who know it and love it appreciate its filling, comforting simplicity. But the use in some dishes of Spam, that salty canned mush of chopped pork shoulder, ham, and filler introduced to the islands by the U.S. military, has a sad tendency to land those dishes in culinary joke territory. Which is a darn shame, because Hawaiian cooking has a way of making it rather tasty.
The best example of this is the popular snack known as Spam musubi, which looks like a giant piece of sushi. In a typical preparation, the sliced Spam is grilled and simmered in a mix of soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine. It is then placed atop a giant piece of Spam-sized molded sushi rice (there is actually a gadget called a Spam musubi rice press) and, in the simplest version, the entire thing is wrapped with a piece of nori, the dried seaweed wrapper common to sushi.
More complicated versions can include egg and other additions. What makes something so simple as the Spam musubi great? For starters, the soft texture – not great in sandwiches – works wonderfully on rice, like a tender piece of nigiri sushi. The sweetness of the cooking sauce compliments the saltiness of the meat, and the rice further balances out the salt.
It also wins a prize for inventiveness, being a cross between traditional Japanese cuisine and a part of local Hawaiian cuisine born of necessity.
