Once this sandwich was introduced to the world, a funny variety of responses greeted it and me. Certainly a work of compact, contrasting beauty, but also an instigator for a conversation on processed meats and class. Eater has an extensive history of SPAM that spans one hundred years. My own mother and I arrived in these United States of America and thought nothing of it — few ingredients, heavily processed, keeps — resembles the other American Processed Meats so celebrated: bologna, hot dogs, christmas ham, corned beef hash, it’s endless.
In either case, SPAM became something the USA began to look down on as low class, yet in Japan, the Philippines, and other SE Asian countries, it’s a celebrated ingredient. Food and ingredients are constantly being reinvented and reconsidered, here we are bringing SPAM back to our shores.
We just want to eat a tasty sandy that looks good, keeps in the refrigerator, and doesn’t break the bank. I imagine this to be the perfect compact snack to bring on a long bike ride or hike. Once one reaches her destination, she takes a long look over hopefully a sweeping vista, opens a can of sake, and digs into this delicious treat.
Total preparation time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Pineapples: 5/5 🍍 🍍 🍍 🍍 🍍
Read before committing: Your friends might look at you funny when you give them this.
Makes one 11 by 7 inch pan, you cut. I made 9 sandies.
Ingredients
1 can of spam
20 cherry tomatoes
2 small handfuls of arugula
1/2 lemon
1 1/2 cups dry sushi rice
to make it purple, add 1 part black pearl rice to 4 parts sushi rice
2 scallions
2 sheets of nori or one pack of seaweed snacks
3 Tablespoons of mayonnaise, Kewpie mayo if you can find it
optional but recommended: Furikake (Japanese rice seasoning)
Instructions
Cook sushi rice. I like to use a 1:1.3 rice to water ratio, soak for 15 minutes, bring to boil, cover, reduce to simmer for 25 minutes, remove from simmer and let sit covered for another 15 minutes.
Let the sushi rice cool off until you can handle.
While sushi rice is cooling, pan sear 9 slices of spam.
Toss a salad with the arugula, tomatoes, squeezed lemon juice, a bit of olive oil, and scallions.
Take half of your sushi rice and line the bottom of your pan. Aim for even coverage, but try to keep it thin.
Sprinkle furikake over the rice.
Place your layer of spam, add mayo, and then place the salad over that.
Place a layer of dried seaweed over the salad.
Press the remaining rice over the seaweed.
Place a cutting board or other flat surface on the top of the pan, turn over, and slam down onto your counter.
Slice it and enjoy.
To store in the fridge, wrap tightly in plastic wrap so the sushi rice keeps its moisture.