A long line of hungry customers snakes down the block at the Powell Street Festival, their appetites whetted by the aromas wafting from the JCCA food booth. The scent comes from slabs of marinated SPAM® frying on hot BBQs before being placed on rice and wrapped in nori to create SPAM® Sushi (also known as SPAM® musubi).
The nostalgic smell and taste of SPAM® Sushi evokes many memories among festival-goers and it has become a tradition at the long-running Powell Street Festival, itself a Vancouver tradition.
For the past four years the Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association has been preparing and selling SPAM® Sushi (Musubi) at its food booth where it has quickly become a Festival favourite, taking its place among other popular festival foods.
In 2012, as the SPAM® Brand celebrated its 75th Anniversary, Hormel generously donated SPAM® product slicers to the JCCA. The apparatus effectively slices one can of SPAM® into nine equal slices with one stroke, speeding up the process and allowing more people to be served. The slices are marinated in equal parts of soya sauce and honey and then placed on the barbecue.
The name SPAM® was coined in 1936 by a New York actor named Kenneth Daigneau as part of a contest held by George A. Hormel & Company, the producers of the product, to replace the original name, HORMEL® Spiced Ham. The rest is history.
In Hawaii, SPAM® is so popular it is sometimes referred to as “The Hawaiian Steak.” One of the most popular ways to serve SPAM® in Hawaii is SPAM® Musubi—a piece of cooked SPAM® combined with rice and nori to create a bite-sized delicacy. Long popular in other parts of the world, it has become associated with the history of the Japanese in North America.
Thanks to Hormel Foods for their generous donations of SPAM® products and publicity materials that have helped contribute to the JCCA’s fundraising efforts.
The JCCA will once again be selling SPAM® Sushi along with the ever-popular salmon BBQ. Prices are $3 for one piece.
This year, not only can you enjoy SPAM® Sushi at the Powel street event, customers will also be able to buy a SPAM® SUSHI (Musubi) Kit to take home to prepare for themselves and share the fun!
Join us at the 38th annual Powell Street Festival on and August 2 and 3 for two days of Japanese culture and enjoy a plate of delicious SPAM® Sushi – it’s a Vancouver tradition!
DYI
SPAM SUSHI/MUSUBI
You Will Need
Cooked short rain rice
1 can Spam (regular) sliced into 10 pieces
Sheet of nori cut in half
Musubi mold
¼ cup soy sauce (shoyu)
¼ cup honey
Cutting board
Mix honey and shoyu for marinade
Dip slices of Spam in this mixture until well coated
Heat frying pan on medium heat
Fry the Spam slices on both sides until they are caramelized
Transfer to a plate and keep warm
Lay nori on cutting board, long side perpendicular to you
Place musubi mold in the middle of the nori
Place a layer (about ¼ to ½ inch) of rice in mold and press with presser
Place 1 slice of Spam on the pressed rice
Cover with another thin layer of rice and press firmly
Push sushi out of the mold and fold the nori firmly over it
Slice in half or leave whole
It is best not to overwhelm the Spam with too much rice. You may sprinkle furikake on the top of the first layer of rice and on top of Spam before putting the second layer of rice on the Spam.
