Spam Onigirazu is perfect for a quick meal or snack on the go. The winning combination of fried eggs, sweet sushi rice, and classic spam wrapped up in crunchy nori. You want to sink your teeth into this yummy treat!
If you love a popular Hawaiian favorite SPAM® Musubi, you will LOVE this SPAM® Onigirazu (スパムおにぎらず). The ingredients are similar to classic musubi; all you need is SPAM® product, rice, and nori (seaweed) sheet. The biggest difference is that you could add more fillings in Onigirazu, and today I added lettuce and a fried egg to make it more like a breakfast dish. This combo of deliciousness is potable and hearty enough to fill a hungry stomach any time of the day. You’ll love it for a picnic, road trip snack or plane food too!
What is Spam Musubi?
A popular snack and lunch dish in Hawaii, SPAM® Musubi is made of a thinly sliced grilled SPAM® product on top of rice pillow. The SPAM® product and rice are wrapped together with nori (seaweed sheet), almost look like Tamago Sushi. It is sweet, salty, filling and extremely addicting. If you like to get creative, check out the cuter version of Piggy SPAM® Musubi which I made a while ago to surprise my children.
How To Make Spam Onigirazu
SPAM® Onigirazu is a little bit fancier version of SPAM® Musubi. You could add more ingredients and make it more delicious as onigirazu hold more fillings inside.
If you’re not familiar with onigirazu, it’s basically a rice sandwich; instead of making a triangle/round onigiri (omusubi), we make a rice sandwich with more fillings. I made a video on how to make it here, and I have also shared my Chicken Katsu Onigigirazu and Bulgogi Onigirazu recipes on my blog (and more recipes coming soon!).
As the SPAM® product is a bit on the salty side, I like to add a fried egg to make it more balanced, while lettuce (especially iceberg lettuce) gives a crunchy and refreshing texture.
SPAM® product is usually cooked with soy sauce for musubi, so I season the SPAM® product the same way in this recipe. Soy sauce, mirin, and sake – the most important 3 ingredients for typical Japanese flavors.
Hawaiian Foods Week with Spam Onigirazu
My children absolutely love onigirazu and it’s one of their most requested lunch items. As next week (June 12 – 18) is Hawaiian Foods Week, I got the idea for this recipe while grocery shopping and saw SPAM®. As many of you know, SPAM® products are a part of life in Hawaii. It’s served everywhere, from grocery stores, delis to fancy restaurants. Even McDonald’s features several SPAM® items on their breakfast menu.
Starting next week, I will be celebrating Hawaiian Foods Week with many of the brands you know and love, which include King’s Hawaiian, Dole, SPAM®, Kona Brewing Co. and Mauna Loa.
After making the onigirazu for my children, I made several sandwiches with King’s Hawaiian rolls, SPAM® product, and King’s Hawaiian BBQ sauce for Mr. JOC. He thoroughly enjoyed the combination, and it’s now made the list as one of our quick meal ideas.
What’s your favorite Hawaiian foods? Share in the comment below! 🙂
Onigirazu Mold
Mark, one of JOC readers from Oregon, kindly sent me this beautiful onigirazu mold that he handcrafted. It’s made of Port Orford cedar and there is not a single nail used in this mold. Thank you, Mark! If you want to purchase this mold, please click onigirazu mold page for details.
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
Sign up for the free Just One Cookbook newsletter delivered to your inbox! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
- 6 large eggs
- 1 SPAM® product (7 oz)
- 1 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
- 6 sheets nori (seaweed)
- 3 cups cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
- 1 Tbsp furikake (rice seasoning)
- 6 leaves lettuce (I used ice burg lettuce for the crunch)
-
Gather all the ingredients.
- Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil over medium high heat in the frying pan and cook the eggs as you like. I made the egg “over hard” (over well), which is a fried egg turned over and cooked until the yolk is solid. Make the eggs in batches if necessary, and transfer to a plate when they are cooked.
- Meanwhile take out the spam from the can and cut into ¼ “ (6 mm) slices. You’ll get about 6-7 slices. Once the eggs are cooked, add the spam slices to the pan and cook both sides until nicely browned. Transfer the spam slices onto a plate.
- Turn down the heat to medium low and add 1 Tbsp. mirin, 1 Tbsp. sake, and 1 Tbsp. soy sauce. Mix well quickly.
- Transfer the spam slices back to the pan and coat well with the sauce.
- Place a plastic wrap on a working surface and put a sheet of nori seaweed on top (shiny side facing down), with a corner pointing up. Evenly spread the steamed rice in a thin layer and form into a square shape in the center of nori sheet. I’m using the onigirazu mold (read more about it here).
- Sprinkle a little bit of kosher salt and furikake. Salt is added to prevent the food from spoiling as we eat onigiri, onigirazu, and bento at room temperature and typically without refrigeration.
- Place the fried egg and spam slice on top.
- Place the lettuce and thin layer of steamed rice on top, maintaining a nice rectangular/square shape.
- Now if you have an onigirazu mold, pull up the mold carefully. Remember to moist the “lid” before you press down so rice does not get stuck to it.
- Bring left and right corners of nori sheet towards the center. Fold gently but tightly to wrap around the layers at the center.
- Then bring bottom and top corners towards the center. Continue to fold gently but tightly around the layers. Make sure the rice is tucked in nicely.
- If you like your onigirazu to showcase the filling after cutting in half, mark with a piece of rice or lettuce strip perpendicular to the filling. When you add the filling, you can decide which way you want to cut so it looks the best when the ingredients are revealed.
- Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside for 5 minutes with nori’s seam side down.
- Cut the onigirazu with a sharp knife (following the mark that tells you which direction to cut). Run your knife in running water before cutting so that the cross-section will be clean. If you plan to make this the previous night, wrap the onigirazu with kitchen towel and keep in the refrigerator overnight. The towel will prevent the rice from getting hard from the cold temperature. Eat within 24 hours.
I use this Onigirazu Mold, but it's not necessary. Please use this tutorial for guidance. If you're interested in purchasing this wooden mold, please click here for more information.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Full Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of King’s Hawaiian. The opinions and text are all mine.
Amazing. Never thought that rice can be used instead of bread. Very practical and tasty. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Hi Albert! Thank you! Yes, if you ever got tired of bread sandwich, there is rice sandwich to sandwich Asian foods/fillings. 🙂
I don’t have any kids, but I would definitely make this for myself. All I would need is Spam. Not sure if it is sold in Barbados, so I’ll have to go shopping to find out. I remember it being sold in the US and Canada, but I don’t recall seeing it sold here. Ah, well. If I can’t find any I can always use a substitute. Thanks again, Nami!
Hi There: You can substitute chicken, thinly sliced beef, luncheonmeat or anything tasty protein. Just marinade the same way. Works great 🙂
Thank you Miko for your suggestions!
Jerry, hope you give it a try! You can use any foods as filling as long as it goes well with steamed rice. 🙂
Aloha Namiko! Favorite Hawaiian foods, oh my! Lau lau, kalua pork, lomi lomi salmon, chicken long rice, smoked pork, haupia, furikake salmon, butter mochi, pie crust manju, warabi salad, Okinawan sweet potato tempura…the list could go on and on…most of these are local favorites that can be found in a plate lunch style restaurants, okazu-ya, or kitchens throughout the islands. So many ono (delicious) choices here in Hawaii! Thank you for sharing your version of SPAM onigirazu!
Hi Robin! Okay, reading the menus you wrote made me drool….. I’d love to eat them in Hawaii! xoxo
Aloha Nami! Thank you for taking the time to reply! Yes, I hope you get to try all the wonderful foods Hawaii has to offer! Have a wonderful day! xoxo
Thank you! 🙂
This looks fantastic! I adore Musubi..can’t wait to try this! The added egg protein is appealing too. Have had eggs, rice and spam for breakfast on occasion-yum! This would make a great breakfast on the go! Thank you for sharing ☺
Does this Mark sell his beautifully crafted onigirazu molds? I have a plastic one,,but love this one!
Hi Leslie! Yes, it’s great meal on the go.
And good news! I updated the info on Onigirazu Mold page, but Mark started to sell his mold!!! It’ll last forever in your kitchen. 🙂
https://www.etsy.com/listing/386133104/onigirazu-mold
Thank you so much, Nami! I can’t wait to get one ☺
One of my favorite Hawaiian dishes that is so easy to make is Kailua Pig and cabbage.
Hi Nanette! Aw that sounds so delicious!!! 😀
My daughter loves Spam Musubi. I made it once and used teriyaki sauce instead since I didn’t know what type of sauce they put in but my daughter liked it anyway. I will try this recipe, it looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Agnes! If you have soy sauce, mirin, sake, (sugar), you can make teriyaki sauce at home and no need to buy and keep extra bottle in your fridge. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Hi Nami..if I store it overnight in the fridge will the nori seaweed be soft in the morning?
Hi Angie! The nori for onigirazu has to be soft anyway. To be able to wrap nicely, we use warm rice for onigirazu. So nori is naturally wilted by the time you cut in half. Nori won’t be crispy. 🙂 Hope this helps!
Hi Nami,
The Spam onigirazu is a hit with my family and these are good alternatives to sandwiches with bread. MY daughter tried spam for the first time and she liked it. I will try it with chicken next time! Thanks. Darlene
Hi Darlene! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoyed it! Thank you for your kind feedback. Yes, chicken or any filling will work with onigirazu. I love how adaptable this dish is! 🙂
Hi! What kind of Nori should I get? I find that the ones I bought always end up becoming chewy after the rice is in. My child has a hard time biting off the sushi/onigiri with the chewy seaweed.
Thanks!
Hi Jackie! We use Japanese nori for Onigirazu. I think it depends on the brand/type of nori as my kids (or I) don’t find it difficult to chew. You could use Korean seaweed – they are thinner and easier to break (which could be problem when you are wrapping). Try to get good quality nori – I think it’ll help. 🙂
Wonderful idea! Egg is a perfect complement to spam. I’m surprised no one has thought of this before. Japanese/Hawaiian version of the Egg McMuffin.
Hi Dan! Hope you like this recipe! 🙂
Hi I was wondering how long this would keep in the fridge?
Hi Noaw! I’d recommend to eat it in less than 12 hours. When it’s kept in the fridge, the rice gets hard, so it’s not ideal to keep for a long time. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
I love your spam musubi & yakisoba.
Delicious!!
Hi Irenne! Thank you for reading! I am happy to hear you like them. Hope you enjoy cooking them at home! 🙂
Hi, if we are to bring out for picnic or later to eat, do we cut in half first or even necessary to cut in half? Thanks
Hi Joanne! You don’t have to cut in half – it’ll be a gigantic rice ball. 😀 It’s just easier to eat and in case you don’t want to eat the entire thing, you can share with others. 🙂
I made this this morning for breakfast since it has snowed here in Tokyo and the kids did not have school. Tasted great but the nori seemed to crack as I folded it. I am sure I put the shinier side down. I don’t suppose you have a video of you doing the folding? Maybe it takes practice. And, I did not have a mold to make the ingredients nicely compact and shaped properly. I will try again, though!
Hi Michael! Thanks for trying this recipe! No, you’re not alone. When fresh nori is out of the package when it’s super crisp, it easily cracks. If you cut the nori ahead of time, slightly before wrapping, it might help too, after absorbing some moisture in the air. OR when the food is hot, and wrap nori around, it wilts very quickly. 🙂 Hope next time will be successful at wrapping with nori. 🙂
What could I do to substitute sake? I am not old enough to buy it.
Hi Natasha! You can use water instead. 🙂
I have made this a few times without sake and I substituted 1/3 the amount with rice wine vinegar. (1 teaspoon). It tastes great with either.
Hi Ryvir! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂
I haven’t tried this recipe, but it looks interesting as a lunch bento. How do you recommend we re-heat the onigirazu? Can we just pop in the microwave?
Hi Elie! Japanese bento is meant to eat at room temperature (although you “can” heat up). Rice balls and onigirazu as well. But if you prefer, you can just pop in microwave to warm up. 🙂
Thank you, Nami! I love all your recipes! I do have two requests. Do you have a recipe for takuan? Our favorite one from Hawaii is no longer being made and I need a good recipe. The other is a recipe for Hot and Spicy sauce for teppanyaki. I used your recipe for basic teppanyaki sauce the other night and my family loved it! Thank you!!