This recipe for Spam & Egg Musubi is incredibly easy to make. In its simplest form, it features pan-fried luncheon meat and egg on sushi rice, wrapped with seaweed.

Want to save this recipe?

Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!

One of my kids' favourite foods to eat is Spam & Egg Musubi.

What is musubi?

In Japanese, musubi refers to "rice ball," similar to onigiri.

Originating in Hawaii, Spam musubi is a simple snack and/or meal of pan-fried Spam (luncheon meat), rice, wrapped with nori (seaweed).

What is Spam?

SPAM is a brand of canned luncheon meat which is primarily made of pork, starch, and flavourings.

It's not the most healthiest ingredient, due to its high sodium and fat content.

However, it's a handy pantry item to have as it can be stored for a very long time, which makes it great for dishes like Budae Jiggae (Korean Army Stew).

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe comes together in less than 1 hour.

It's delicious as a snack or as a meal.

Like Tuna Onigiri, it packs well for traveling or for a picnic and can be served warm or cold.

Best of all, it consists of a few pantry/staple ingredients.

Ingredients you'll need

cooked sushi rice: should be hot and freshly cooked; sushi rice is short-grained rice which has a sticky texture
rice vinegar: for seasoning the rice; you can find rice vinegar in Asian supermarkets
granulated sugar: for seasoning the rice
SPAM or canned luncheon meat: sliced and pan-fried
eggs: pan-fried in an omelette-style
seaweed/nori: cut into 1" strips

How to make it

Prepare the Spam/luncheon meat and eggs:

In a large frying pan over medium heat, pan-fry slice of SPAM, until crisp and lightly browned.

Drain on paper towel and set aside.

Lightly wipe away the excess grease from the pan.

Add in the beaten eggs in 2 batches and cook omelette style, flipping halfway through, until both sides are lightly golden.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Fold up the omelette into a width similar to the SPAM slices and cut with a sharp knife.

Set aside.

Season the rice:

In a small saucepan, add in the sushi rice vinegar and sugar.

Heat over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.

Carefully drizzle and fan in the rice vinegar into the hot, cooked sushi rice.

Mix with a rice paddle until the rice is combined with the vinegar.

Assemble:

With wet hands, take about 3 tablespoon of rice and press into the shape of the Spam.

Next, place a folded egg omelette on the rice.

Add a slice of Spam onto the egg.

Wrap the nori seaweed strip around the centre of the musubi.

Repeat with the remainder.

Other additions

You can add whatever fillings you like to your musubi.

Just be sure not to make it too thick or it will be difficult to wrap the seaweed around it.

You can include:

slices of avocado: a really delicious way to add some creaminess to the musubi
furikake: a dry Japanese seasoning consisting of fish, seaweed, salt and sugar
perilla/sesame leaf: for a touch of earthy freshness
teriyaki sauce: a warmed mixture of soy sauce, sugar and mirin that you can brush on the pan-fried Spam (I tend to omit the sauce as the luncheon meat is already quite salty and flavourful)

Expert tips

Use freshly cooked, warm rice so that it molds together without falling apart.

Don't use day-old or cooled rice as it will not hold together well.

Wet your hands prior to forming the rice, so that the rice won't stick to your fingers.

There's no need to buy a mold to form the musubi.

You can form the rice free-handedly, using the shape of the luncheon meat as your guide.

Or use a clean, empty SPAM container lined with plastic wrap as a makeshift mold.

Choose low-sodium SPAM luncheon meat if you're watching your salt intake.

How to serve & store

Serve the musubi hot or cold.

If you serve the musubi cold, you may want to bring it to room temperature for 20 minutes prior to serving just to take off the chill.

Store any assembled Spam musubi in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Alternatively, you can individually wrap each musubi in plastic wrap for convenience and to retain freshness.

Note: the texture of the sushi rice will harden slightly when cooled.

Other recipes you may like

Be sure to check out these recipes:

Aburi-Style Smoked Salmon Oshi Sushi

Beef Udon With Egg (Niku Tama Udon)

Spicy Tuna Onigiri

Easy Seaweed Salad (Wakame)

Homemade Spicy Ahi Tuna Poke Bowls

Ham Garlic Sausage & Pineapple Fried Rice

Let me know if you try out this recipe for Spam & Egg Musubi -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!

Print Recipe

5 from 7 votes