Spam Musubi: Don't Knock It Until You've Tried It

Everyone's always too quick to judge Spam- maybe it's the weird aspic coating it congeals in, or just that people like to steer away from canned meats. The main thing you need to know however, is that it's not bad. In fact, it's even pretty delicious: salty, soft, ham-flavoured; so do not just leave it on the shelf!

The thing I'm making today is one of Hawaii's greatest staples- spam Musubi. You can get in any store there and it is great for breakfast, snacks or even a light supper.

I've been in sushi territory before, so I won't go into masses of detail about how to prepare it, just see my sushi post for instructions on rice.

1)Remove your spam from the tin by squeezing the tin and giving it a good shake. Do not throw away the tin! Slice your spam into 1/2 inch slices.

2)Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan and cook your slices until nice and crispy. Add about a tablespoon each of soy sauce and Mirin until they reduce and caramelise. When cool, sprinkle very lightly with toasted sesame oil.

3)Meanwhile, crack an egg into a saucepan and add a splash of milk, a knob of butter and some freshly ground black pepper and beat and cook until fluffy. Have it more dry than you would for breakfast.

4)Line the spam tin with cling film and fill it about halfway with seasoned sushi rice and press it down well with a wetted finger or the back of a teaspoon. Add a generous layer of egg spread evenly and then a slice of spam. Cover with the same amount of rice and press that down. Carefully remove it from the tin and place your block on a strip of nori cut to the width of the block. Roll it up and leave for a few minutes for the nori to shrink around the sushi before cutting in half and serving with soy sauce, some leftover egg and wasabi.