Island Eats: Spam Musubi

Travel Blog  •  Pam Mandel  •  02.04.09 | 11:39 AM ET

Photo by bandita via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Blame WW II. It was the food of soldiers stationed in the islands and somehow, it stuck—cans of the meat-like product making their way past the gates of military bases and into Hawaiian daily life. According to an older article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, islanders go through 7 million cans of Spam annually. Spam seems to show up everywhere Hawaiians are found—Hawaiian center fielder for the Phillies Shane Victorino took heat last year from PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) for admitting that Spam musubi was one of his favorite foods. And stalkerish reporting on every action taken by our new president on his last trip to the islands revealed that he ordered Spam musubi for lunch while on a golf outing.

I’ve been face-to-face with Spam musubi—a block of rice topped with Spam and wrapped in seaweed—at ukulele club events because friends raised in Hawaii will insist on bringing big Tupperware containers of the stuff to picnics and potlucks. I’ve tried it more than once and I’ve yet to convince myself that I like it. I’m not much of a carnivore, plus, Spam reminds me too much of the deviled meat sandwiches of my grade school days. I can still picture the shiny blocks of plastic-wrapped Spam musubi under lights in the food court across from our Honolulu hotel—no sight has ever left me with a stronger craving for salad.

Don’t let me talk you out of it, though. Plenty of people find Spam musubi ono—delicious—and insist that it’s an essential part of the Hawaiian experience. I’ll pass, but you should give it a go at least once. Love it so much that you want to make your own? Here’s Making of the Spam Musubi on YouTube.  Bonus? You learn how to pronounce “musubi” correctly!


Pam Mandel is a freelance writer and photographer from Seattle, Washington. Her work has appeared in a variety of print, radio, and web publications and she's contributed to two guidebooks, one on British Columbia and one on Hawaii. She plays the ukulele, has an internal beacon that is surprisingly capable of locating the best baked goods in town, almost any town, and speaks German with a Styrian accent. Learn more on her personal blog at Nerd's Eye View.


4 Comments for Island Eats: Spam Musubi

Eva Holland 02.04.09 | 1:01 PM ET

PETA has beef (har har) with Spam? Does that mean there’s actual animal involved? (And, presumably, unethical treatment of said animal?) Or did they just need someone to berate, and the Phillies guy was handy?

Grubgirl 02.04.09 | 1:49 PM ET

I LUV spam musubi. Makes for a great portable snack for all-day kids’ & grown up sporting events (like a volleyball or basketball tournament). The key is in pan frying the spam…and you can use turkey spam if you insist. Out in NorCal, it’s definitely a part of the Japanese-American scene, that has trickled into general Asian-American casual gatherings. Avoid the ones sitting wrapped up forlornly in plastic, under a heat lamp at some grocery store, if it’s your first time.

TambourineMan 02.04.09 | 4:12 PM ET

Go PETA! Anyone who gives Shane “The Cryin’ Hawaiian” Victorino a hard time is ok in this Dodger fan’s book.

Pam Mandel 02.04.09 | 6:49 PM ET

@Eva: Cracking up all over the place. Yeah, I guess if PETA objects, there’s actual animal product in there. Though that’s the only evidence I can think of that proves it.

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