Recipe Description

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups uncooked short-grain white rice, preferably sushi rice. If sushi rice is not available, you may be able to substitute arborio rice or basmati rice. Do not use Minute Rice or long-grain rice... it won't work.
  
• 2 cups water
• 6 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) container fully cooked luncheon meat (e.g. Spam)
• 5 sheets sushi nori (dry seaweed)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• Salt / salt water to dampen your hands and the musubi press, so the rice won't stick. Also, you may want to use plastic wrap in the musubi press or on the top of the press, to help with the sticking.
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Soak uncooked rice for 4 hours; drain and rinse. Optionally, rinse and re-rinse rice in cold water in a colander until water is clear. This removes a lot of the extra starch that would make the rice too sticky. I personally prefer to rinse by hand until the water is clear (5-6 rinsings at a minimum) since I'm impatient and don't want to wait for the soaking time.
   


2. In a saucepan bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in rice vinegar, and set aside to cool. Or, if you have a rice cooker and can cook sushi rice in it, use this instead. You may use less rice vinegar if you do not care for the taste, but you should use some as it keeps the rice grains separate.
   
   
3. In a separate bowl, stir together soy sauce and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved. Slice Spam lengthwise into 8-10 slices (about 1/8 to 1/4" thick each), or to desired thickness, and marinate in sauce for 5 minutes. Slices that are too thin will burn or become too crispy. You want slices that will form a seared crust, but not be too crunchy, and not too thick either. If your soy/sugar mixture is too runny, let it simmer down into a thicker mixture before cooking the spam in it.
   
   
4. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Cook Spam slices for 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned, adding some of the soy/sugar mixture to the pan to enhance the browning.
   
   
5. Cut nori sheets in half and lay on a flat work surface. Place a rice press in the center of the sheet, and press rice tightly inside. (If Nori is too dry to work with, dampen it *very* slightly. It will become easier to work with as the musubi warms and dampens it. You don't want it wet.) Personally, I prefer to cut my Nori into strips about 3/4" wide, and use that to wrap the musubi, but I'm not a huge fan of Nori. Some people prefer to wrap the entire musubi except the very ends in a wider piece of Nori, about 3" long.
   
   
6. Top with a slice of Spam, and remove press. Wrap the nori around rice mold, sealing edges with a small amount of water. Musubi may be served warm or cold. Wrap individually in plastic wrap to refrigerate.