Hawaii's Spam Cookbook by Ann Kondo Corum (1987, Paperback)

HAWAII’S SPAM COOKBOOK
*including recipes for sardines, corned beef and Vienna sausage
by Ann Kondo Corum, 1987, by Bess Press, Inc.

Here’s a cute little cookbook that doesn’t seem to take itself seriously. In Hawaii, SPAM is serious business, and NO joke. Why do Hawaiians eat so much SPAM? They eat over 4 million cans a year!

Imagine going back in American history to another great economic depression: SPAM was invented in 1937. A few years later, fresh meat was a real luxury for many people. During WWII, especially in Hawaii, military personnel were fed copious amounts of this tinned delicious meat. The rest is history. Below is Hawaii’s favorite way to use SPAM:

Hawaiian Spam Musubi Recipe

A favorite Hawaiian way to eat Spam is in the form of a musubi (pronounced moo-soo-bee, with no accent). It is a fried slice of Spam on rice pressed together to form a small block, then wrapped with a strip of seaweed.
3 cups uncooked short- or medium-grain rice
4 cups water
5 sheets of sushi nori (seaweed in big squares)
1 (12-ounce) can Spam luncheon meat
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup rice wine (mirin)
Water
Wash rice, stirring with your hand, until water runs clear. Place rice in a saucepan with water; soak 30 minutes. Drain rice in colander and transfer to a heavy pot or rice cooker; add 4 cups water. If you don't have a rice cooker, place rice and water into a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring just to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and leave pan, covered, for 15 additional minutes.
Cut nori in half widthwise. Place cut nori in a resealable plastic bag to keep from exposing the nori to air (exposing the nori to air will make it tough and hard to eat).
Cut Spam into 8 rectangular slices approximately 1/4-inch thick. In a large ungreased frying pan over medium heat (Spam has plenty of grease to keep it from sticking), fry slices until brown and slightly crispy. remove from heat, drain on paper towels, and set aside.
In a small saucepan over high heat, add soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine; bring just to a boil, then remove from heat. Add fried Spam slices to soy sauce mixture, turning them to coat with the sauce; let spam slices sit in marinade until ready to use.
In a small bowl, add some water to use as a sealer for the ends of the nori wrapper; set aside.
Using a Spam Musubi press, place a piece of nori on a plate. Position press on top of the nori so the length of the press is in the middle of the nori (widthwise). The press and the width of the nori should fit exactly the length of a slice of Spam.
Spread approximately 1/4 cup cooked rice across the bottom of the musubi maker, on top of the nori; press rice down with flat part of the press to compact the rice until it is 1/4-inch thick. Place a slice of Spam on top of the rice. Cover with an additional 1/4 cup cooked rice; press until 1/4-inch thick. remove the musubi from the press by pushing the whole stack down (with the flat part of the press) while lifting off the press. Fold one end of nori over the musubi and press lightly onto the rice. Wet the remaining end slightly with water, then wrap over musubi and other piece of nori; press down on the other end. cut log into 4 pieces. Repeat.
Do not refrigerate musubi, as they will get dry and rubbery. Makes 32 musubi.

The book is a nice overview to Spam and other tinned meats. Home-style comfort food, at its best.