07/11/24
Created in 1937, post-WWII Spam was everywhere- an affordable pantry staple for many, famously parodied in a 1970 Monty Python sketch, from which the use of the word spam for unsolicited emails derives. Perhaps Spam’s greatest culinary contribution is in Hawaii where spam musubi is a beloved snack that comes from the Japanese omusubi (handheld savory rice balls) and is sold everywhere, from 7-Elevens to cafes dedicated to the dish.
Spam musubi consists of a slice of SPAM grilled in a savory and slightly sweet teriyaki like sauce and placed on top of a bed of white rice sprinkled with furikake, held together by a piece of nori- making for an absurdly delicious snack that can be taken anywhere. My parents live in Hawaii and it’s my favorite snack when I’m at the beach in Waikiki.
Musubi is a dish with a complicated history. It’s likely that survivors of the Japanese American Internment camps created what became Spam musubi and a common lunch of sugar plantatio workers in Hawaii. Today, SPAM has a cult following among foodies and Asian American chefs who have reclaimed this often derided ingredient, while reclaiming their culture’s past.
I grew up eating Spam. My grandmother would babysit me in the summer and every morning she would fry two slices of Spam with two eggs over easy and rice for my breakfast. She fed me well. Spam was brought to Korea by US G.I.s during the Korean War. At a time when food was scarce, Spam was a luxury- today it’s an essential ingredient for the very popular buddae jjigae (army base stew).
I guess you can say Spam is my Proustian madeleine- a reminder of my childhood, a connection to my family’s past before me, and I’ll always have a soft spot for this canned ham in my heart <3
We spiffed up the humble, yet delicious musubi with a homemade sauce and edible flowers from the OU garden and are serving it with a small side of our house made cucumber pickles sprinkled with shichimi togarashi, Japanese 7 spice, blended by Épices de Cru, an incredible spicery from Montreal.
We’ll see you at the market.
-Irene