Tired of gas costs slicing into your food budget? Need a way to cut costs? A can of Spam on sale is about $1.88 now, it’s obvious Spam musubis are one of the many solutions to the economy knifing its way through your funds.
What? You don’t know how to make one?
This is a crying shame and I cannot allow this to go on.
I realize there are like 50 billion spam musubi tutorials out there, but I don’t have one, so I felt the need to make one. Especially since I had to make some for yesterday’s potluck. Unfortunately, my crap camera is still not focusing, so the pictures came out horrible. One day I’ll replace them all with better photos. :(
You will need:
3 cups short grain rice
1 can Spam
5 full sheets of nori
1 jar of furikake (I recommend Nori Komi)
musubi mold
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
scissors
rice paddle or spoon
Now when I say 3 cups rice, I don’t mean literally three cups of cooked rice. I mean you put three cups of uncooked rice into your ricepot, fill the water up to the 3 cup line, and that’s your “3 cups rice”. I don’t know how many ACTUAL cups that comes out to, though. Maybe 6?
I’m writing this assuming that you’ve done some planning and bought yourself a spam musubi mold. They sell them on Amazon and at several other stores online. I couldn’t find one that was non-stick plastic like the one I have, so I don’t have one to link. I can’t even remember where I bought my own! If you’re reading this with your spam all sliced and ready to go, then I’m not sure what I can do for you.
To start, we have my awesomely yucky Photo #1. A full sheet of nori can be cut into two pieces. Measure it with your mold and make sure it’s the same length. My nori sheets tend to have a slight bit of extra nori, so I end up with little 2 cm strips that I feed to the munchkins. I have ready here my cutting board, the nori, the mold, my baby rice paddle (I like these better because they fit right into the mold), my jar of furikake, and a really sexy knife.
Spam by itself fried is pretty good, but I require some sato-shoyu sauce simmering first. Usually this sauce calls for mirin, but I’m cheap, so I just use water. Pour 1/2 cup soy sauce (Aloha is good!), 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup water into a small pot and heat on medium/low.
After a bit of practice, I’m now able to eyeball cutting 10 slices of spam. You might end up with some fat slices and some thin slices at first, but you’ll get the hang of it eventually. Add the spam to the sauce and then go cook your rice. The spam should be about ready when your rice is. Make sure you turn them so the whole slice gets sauced up. If it starts to bubble, reduce the setting to low.
Have all your nori sheets cut and ready to go. When I was a wee little level 1 noob Spam Musubier, I used to cut a couple, then go cut some more, then more. It’s so logical to cut them all at once, so I really have no idea what my problem was, seriously.
I appear to have skipped a step during my photographing and for that I apologize. You basically put a little bit of rice in the mold and pad it down nicely then sprinkle furikake on it. Fill the mold to just under halfway.
Add a slice of spam, making sure to let the extra sauce drip off otherwise you’ll end up with a lot of saucy rice that just falls out of the musubi. Sprinkle more furikake onto the spam.
Top the spam with more rice, lightly filling the mold up to the top. Don’t pack the rice in, just gently pad it on. There is such a thing as way too much rice in a musubi. You need the perfect ratio of rice and spam. This is part of the reason why I prefer this type of spam musubi to the usual ones you see with the spam on top the rice with a nori belt. Those are terribly annoying to eat because people usually put waaaay too much rice and you just feel like you’re eating a hunk of rice and run out of spam. Plus they require (ugh) saran wrap to keep it all together. I don’t recommend that style of musubi unless you’re eating the ones at Y’s Lunch Shop in Hilo. They use a magic wand to make theirs, though. Since those are not easily obtainable, this is your next best option. With the spam in the middle of the rice, you have nice even spam and rice distribution. In my opinion, this is vital to your spam musubi consuming experience.
Take the mold top and place it in, then smash down the rice. Do this gently! There is no need to add all your body weight to this step or anything, we don’t want to kill the poor thing. Hold down the top and slide the mold up and off the musubi.
You should be left with a nice ice-cream-sandwich-looking musubi sitting on top the edge of the nori strip. Bring the nori over and tightly wrap it around to the other side. Wet your fingers with water (PLEASE do not use spit, gah) and swipe your fingers over the place where the nori end will go. Pat the end down onto the wet spot and swipe over the top with wet fingers again to ensure it seals up nicely. Place your finished musubi on a plate and finish up the other 9.
Once you’ve done them all you can wrap them up in wax paper to go or you can cut them in half like I prefer to do. If you’re going to cut them I highly recommend you let them steam for a little while. Your rice should have been hot and they need to moisturize the nori so that it’s nice and soft. After that, take a nice, sharp knife and cut them in half. Waiting for the nori to get soft also makes for better eating because the nori will just tear when you bite into it rather than making you rip it apart with your teeth, thus causing rice to ooze out everywhere. Or in the case of kids, this will cause rice drizzles all over your carpet. Not fun at all.
Cut musubis are much easier to pack in a jubako bento box, though this particular size doesn’t fit 10 so I let the little beggars have one yesterday morning before packing it up for our monthly potluck. Now, don’t those look a lot better than those saran wrapped horrors you see sweating in 7-Elevens and supermarkets? I can’t stand that because to me, the taste of the plastic wrap gets into the musubi. Oh, the horror!
Surely by now you are all thinking, “What the heck is she bolding all those words for?!”
Last month or so, I was contacted by someone at New West Knifeworks. They wanted me to try out a couple of their knives in exchange for a review. Who can say no to something like that? Anyway, I’ve been using the two knives for my bentos for the last month now, having a grand ole time cutting everything without needing to swear and bust out my sharpener. I’ve cut everything from bell peppers (these normally put up a real stink for me when chopping) to sweet potatoes to meat to eggplant. The petty has given me no problems with any of it. And did I mention it’s sexy?
One of the biggest problems I have when it comes to cutting musubi is the knife. The rice sticks to it like crazy and I normally have to wet the knife after every single musubi I cut. This drives me oh-my-freakin’ gawd insane. However, the Petty knife pictured in Photo #1has passed Pikko’s Ultimate Musubi Halving Test by letting me slice my way through 10 musubis straight with no washing needed.
So while you may think of commercials cutting cans or whizzing through tomatoes, cutting through the spam musubi has ended up being the foremost factor in my glowing review of the New West Knifeworks Phoenix Petty Knife.
The best part of all of this is that New West Knifeworks is sponsoring a giveaway on Adventures in Bentomaking!! Woohoo! If you would like to own a brand new Petty knife, all you need to do is click the knife picture above to visit their site, check out all their knives, then come back here and post a comment to this blog posting detailing which of their knives you like the best. Feel free to comment on the handles and any other things you see and like.
From these comments I will have a drawing. The first winner will receive a Phoenix Petty Knife and the second winner will receive a Fusionwood Mini Paring Knife, which coincidentally is really great for medium detail work on special bentos. The blade is a little thick, so I think I still need my X-Acto knife for the very fine details. That little guy is really good for peeling the skin off of baked sweet potatoes, though!
A couple of rules:
You’ll need to leave your name and last initial so that I can tell you from everyone else. ONE entry per person.
Be sure to tell your friends!
{ 89 comments }
That petty knife is pretty nice! And I am poor enough, all I have ever used is a serrated knife from walmart :)
Well, If I only get to pick one… I would definitly go with the Santoku. I tend to like a larger knife when i’m working in the kitchen, one that will chop with authority, yet still have some touch for the finer work. I like the fact that the blade side has relief details to make cutting through thick objects easier, and the blade itself is wide enough that I can use it to ferry chopped items to the pot if the need arises.
I come from a fencing background, so I am well aware of the strength and resiliance of damascus steel. The full tang on the blade and the large hilt rivets also hint at quality ruggedness you can only find in very high end blades.
I think i would go with the Stone pattern for the handles, as it would match my decor better. The stone should be very resiliant to temperature changes and will not split like wood might be prone to over time.
Now if only I can get them to make me a Rapier!
Wow that Tim P guy needs to take me knife shopping!
I think I like the Sashimi knife best. About a month ago a friend gave us a humungous salmon that I had to skin and slice. I did not have the proper knife, making the job harder. This knife will also cut the many sushi rolls I make without, like you, having to dunk it in water. I do like the different design on the handle…easy to spot! On the musubi mold, I’ve read online that people use the spam can itself as a mold. Don’t know how they do it but that’s an option if you don’t have a mold. I like how your mold has rounded corners…mine are rectangular corners making the rice tend to fall off at each corner : (. If you do find out where you got that mold please let us know. Thanks!
I like the Santoku knife best, since I’m partial to rounded (sharp) knives, as they make it so much easier to cut things in quick succession. But the whole Fusionwood line is also really pretty.
And Susan D., you can use the spam can as a mold either by lining it with saran wrap and then using it like a normal mold (using the saran wrap to pull the musubi out) or by cutting the bottom off (although I think those sharp edges would be waaaay too dangerous). Personally, I like the saran wrap, it evokes fond memories from when I lived in Hawaii… they sold spam musubi in my school cafeteria, and they must have slathered the sauce on top before putting it in the saran wrap, because they were soooo juicy and good. I miss it. :(
Hm. I personally like the 6′ Fusionwood Chef Knife. It seems to have a nice grip, and it wouldn’t be too heavy. It also seems like it’d be able to go through things such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and et cetera with ease, while still being able to give a bit of a delicate touch. I’ve never liked larger knives for that reason. Sure I can’t split a butternut squash in one go, but the pros would most likely outweigh the cons, if any.
I’m actually rather tempted to buy the Damascus Santoku knife. I’ve always been a fan of Damascus steel. It holds an edge better than any other steel in my opinion and it looks fantastic as well. The fusion wood like also had me tempted, but I’ve never been a fan of wooden handles on knives. No matter how well they are affixed they almost always find a way to come loose.
I think both look nice.
However, I’d have to go with the Phoenix. Fancy-schmancy paring knives are nice and all but they just don’t have the power of a chef knife. I’ve used many a dull paring knife with absolutely no issue when coring veggies and fruits and they all work fine. Chef knives however, are an essential tool and it cannot be overstated the effectiveness of an absolutely brilliant chopper.
My vote goes to the New West Knifeworks Phoenix Petty Knife.
Sashimi Knife. My husband would be in heaven.
Where do you find such cheap SPAM?? In the DC area, I’ve only seen it for almost $3/can.
As for knives… the Fusionwood set is GORGEOUS. I have a set that I am in love with but it is very utilitarian and not at all sexy. My vote is for the Chef 8″ Fusionwood or the 9″ Phoenix! (I like big knives.)
Ooh! I love those knives! I looked at a bunch of them, and the lines on the knives are great – sleek, and as you say, super sexy! Mmm…. sexy~! Would love to win one and compare it to my small collection of Wusthof knives :)
Yvo S. ;)
I love all the knives bu I’d have to choose the Santoku as my favorite. I love that it has the dimples on the blade for easier slicing and release.
Wow — those really are sexy knives. And they come in a leather sheath? Woohoo!
I’d have to say that the Santoku and Petty knives were flirting with me, but I’d give a left apendage (of someone else’s, not mine) for a parring knife that wouldn’t up and lose it’s sharp tip. So, I’ guess I’m engaged to the parring knife!
Hard to choose a favorite! I guess I drooled mostly over the santoku knive, since I don’t have one of those. (I’ve just started to replace my old cheapo knives with Wusthofs, but slowly.)
And the handles, oh sweet jesus, the handles. On the Phoenix line, I like the granite, but those fusionwood handles are brilliant. I’m not sure I’d want them as workhorse knives, but maybe I could just hang them on the wall?
Aloha! I lean towards the Santoku or the sashimi knife! Those are GREAT for cutting up my spam for my 2 rugrats’ musubi. Hubby loves the sashimi knife for the ono fish we get from suisan! Homemade musubi are DA BOMB… but I like Y’s and Hilo Lunch Shop too… mmmm ono!
I’d probably prefer that 2nd place knife , but because it looks slightly more like a scalpel and idk why but that makes seem better to me lol
I love the look of that Santoku knife. A knife of that quality would be superior to anything I’ve ever used. It actually frightens me a bit, I’m a very amateur cook and can’t imagine being able to use one of those like a professional. Nonetheless, the Santoku would be my favorite without a doubt, both for its quality and seemingly ease of use, as well as its stylish look.
I like to make my own sushi rolls and I think that Petty knife would work wonders for the same reasons you listed. That is where my skill is lacking and I would have to say because I don’t have a proper knife for the job.
I have to admit I love that Santoku knife just as many others have said.
I’d have to go for the Santoku knife, though the paring knife was also calling my name.
It’s about the size of my standard go-to knife, but much better looking! My set is plain old utilitarian.
I think the Santoku is the nicest since I know I’d use it (it being almost identical to my favourite knife). I absolutely LOVE the look of the fusion knives! So pretty and wood handles are my favourite materials to hold (even if it means handwashing).
The Fusionwood Santoku is oh, sooooo sexy. I think it’s the most versatile. I would love to win a knife. I love to cook and my dad and BIL always laugh at how dull and crappy my knives are. Plllllleeeeease choose me.
*gasp!*
You used Aloha Shoyu for cooking!
Blasphemy!
yay I’m so excited that you have posted up how to make a spam musubi.. my favorite food… when I am feeling poor =)
I like the santoku knife because it looks like a standard knife that I can use and handle without hurting myself…
The knives all look really neat with a nice grip handle.. I would opt for the stone grip instead of the granite since I am scared of uranium or radon coming from the granite..
It looks like an incredible knife if it let you cut through the spam musubi as easily as you said so..
I would like to try it for my kimbap or sushi rolls I love to make =)
Oh I love The 9… perfect size.
I wonder if by putting 2008 MAZDA MIATA in bold letters in my blog I would get one?
That petty knife has a very sexy blade design, though I must say “the 9″ seems like the one I could get the most use out of.
That chopper looks awesome. I don’t know if I’d want one to keep, but I’d want one to try. It’s so different from other blades I’ve seen…and that fusionwood handle is killer.
My choice would be a tossup between the Santoku and the Sashimi knife. I lean towards the Santoku simply because it looks more balanced to me. I tend to have a harder time with knives that have a smaller blade along with a larger handle – it just feels unbalanced to me and that Santoku looks like it would have a nice balance. I also like the dimples to help keep foods from sticking to the knife and that it says it is a thin blade that keeps a razor sharp edge. Nice!
They all look great, but the Santoku looks particularly useful to me, given that with a small child I don’t usually have time to swap between knives. I need a knife that will slice vegetables, fruit, and meat with ease with only a pause for a rinse between victims. Throw in some sexy, elegant lines and a beautiful Granite handle and I’m sold!
I love the knife you are using for musubi, so I am going to call it the musubi knife. I have a hard time cutting mine also. Love the granite look.
I’m going to have to go with the Santoku- I have a smaller Global one that I’ve been using, and I’ve been looking for something a little bigger to have as an option, sort of an “everyday/every task” knife.
I really love “The 9″.
It’s super sweet looking, and would make me feel masculine even when slicing up tiny pear slices for a baby Asian salad.
And it’s 9 inches. Forget those puny 8″ knives. 10″? How can you control a 10″ knife? No, 9 is perfect.
Hah I already have a fine knife i got as a gift that i rarely use. I’m so bad at taking care of knives that i don’t like to destroy my expensive one =(
As for the Spam… Its only cheap in Hawaii.
I like the phoenix Santoku best. I like damascus blades, however, I wish they didn’t have the dimples even though they are useful.
Oops, forgot to post my name and initial above. I’m “kasplode.”
I think I like the 9 the best, with the paring knife a close second. I do need a good paring knife, but the 9 would just be perfect as a multipurpose knife, plus the dimples look incredibly nice.
At first glance, my eye went strait for their sashimi knife. A good quality manufacturer’s take on a marvelous design, one that would be great for fish or a roast beef .
But then I looked a little closer at the Petty knife, the one you smoke so much about. I have a low-end knife of about that length, and it’s wonderful. It’s thin, light and can do almost anything – the absolute best at carving fruit!! So after some thought, I’d have to go for their Petty knife.
“smoke” = “spoke”. Not trying to enter the contest twice, just trying not to look like an idiot!
I love the phoenix Santoku knife:)
I think the Santoku and I could spend some pleasant hours in the kitchen. A Santoku is definitely on my kitchen wish-list, and that one looks like a winner, with the damascus steel and the granite-colored handle. Oh, the things I could cut with that . . .
I love knives and this would be a great addition to my kitchen!
I liked the Phoenix Petty Knife. It has the look of a great sushi knife, something I fall for easily. Some say the odd look of the edge is a turnoff, but I think it’s awesome.
Keep up teh bentoz! =)
I am a sucker for Santoku knives. I love the look of the Phoenix Santoku. The handle is beautiful and I love the water pattern on the blade.
The more my kitchen knives resemble samurai swords, the happier a knife geek I am.
I’m going to have to go with “The 9″. The Granite handle and design on the blade are very nice to look at, while the 9 inch blade can handle almost any task you put it to.
Something about the Petty seems the best for general use. And the weird design of the edge is just lovely. But the Santoku is a close second.
Ooo, the Santuko is lovely. And, though I usually prefer wood handles, the Phoenix with granite-colored handle is just gorgeous. Especially that blade! Of course, if I won, I’d have to hide the knife from my husband, or it’d end up in his kit, off at the restaurant.
I like the Fusion blades. The small butcher is my type of knife. Lots of versatility, the chopping power of a butcher knife, but of a size to still be controllable by small hands.
“The 9″ with the granite handle would be my first choice.
The Fusionwood 8″ chef’s knife (harvest) looks like the knife for me – not only are the lines beautiful and the handle simply gorgeous, but I love the details on the edge. Sharpness is everything, the difference between slicing the carrot and slicing your knuckles.
There is something indescribably sensual about preparing food. Especially when you’re preparing it for someone special (whether that someone is yourself or the object of your desire).
Each stage has its own delights:
Selecting fresh ingredients, ideally direct from the producer – from the farmer who speaks with affection about the beasts he raises with care, compassion and attention. The fisherman who stands calmy by the quayside with a box of fish that almost cost him and his crew their lives the night before. And the gardener who nurtured from seed or seedling and stands proudly by their produce urging you to touch, smell and taste.
The cooking can be rewarding too, as the smells and sneaked tastes offer the promise of a meal that will nourish, satisfy, and on a good day, seduce!
But for me, the highlight is to take a crafted blade and enjoy all the sensations it delivers. The Fusion 8″ looks so versatile, and I can imagine the confidence it brings to preparing food.
The sensation as it slices precisely; the sweet scents that are released, and the sense of satisfaction as you transform a cold slab of meat or a simple vegetable into the sleek morcels that will later bring a dish to life.
It’s no coincidence that wherever a Chef travels, he or she will make do with whatever ovens, refrigeration, pots and pans are made available. But wherever they go, they always take their own knives.
Whoever wins, the real winner will be whoever tastes the food they prepare.
I like the paring knife, generally b/c I like smaller knives which I find more useful for everyday use and detailed work. I most use knives to cut vegetables and it seems to have a good grip.
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