Spam Musubi with Egg

This spam musubi with egg recipe is an easy and mouthwatering fusion of Hawaiian and Japanese cuisine. Made with crisp caramelized sweet and salty spam, a fluffy rolled omelet, and deliciously seasoned sushi rice, this spam and egg musubi is the perfect breakfast musubi when you’re busy on the go.

Spam may get a bad reputation but we highlight it as a delicious staple ingredient used in many Asian dishes. The savory umami flavor of the soy caramelized spam paired with the fluffy richness of the rolled egg creates a balanced blend of flavors that is perfect for breakfast, as a snack, or when you are on the go!

Plus, these breakfast musubis are also really easy to customize! You can level them up with bacon and avocado for a full spam breakfast or you can make them vegetarian by swapping out the spam for an oyster mushroom or tofu. I’ve listed some customizable options for you below. If you are looking for more easy on-the-go snacks, check out our Tuna onigiri, Korean rice balls, or Vietnamese spring rolls.

Table of Contents

• What is spam musubi?
• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Kitchen Equipment
• Ingredients
• Substitutions and Additions
• How to Make Spam Musubi with Egg
• Tips for the Best Spam Musubi with Egg
• Storage Instructions
• Frequently Asked Q’s & A’s
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What is spam musubi?

Spam Musubi is a snack or lunch item that is made with light teriyaki flavor glazed spam, a block of sushi rice, wrapped together with nori or seaweed. Barbara Funamura, a Japanese-American woman from Hawaii, is credited with inventing spam musubi.

Spam became a popular ingredient during World War II in Hawaii where the American troops were stationed. Today, they are typically found near cash registers, convenience stores, mom and pop shops all over Hawaii.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Delicious. This spam and eggs musubi recipe is made with a sweet soy sauce caramelized glazed spam on top of a savory rolled egg and a bed of seasoned fluffy sushi rice and wrapped in a crisp roasted nori sheet.
• Versatile. Spam musubi egg makes a delicious spam breakfast, a tasty snack on the go, or a fan favorite for picnics or large gatherings.
• Customizable. This spam musubi egg recipe provides a variety of substitutions and additions for you to customize your musubi to your personal preferences.

Kitchen Equipment

Here are the following items of kitchen equipment you will need to make this spam and egg musubi. No fancy equipment is necessary!

• Rice Cooker: In my opinion, using a rice cooker is the fastest and most efficient method of making rice. If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can cook your rice on the stove.
• Mixing Bowls: you will need mixing bowls to mix up the sauces to season the rice and the spam.
• Medium Skillet: I used a 12-inch nonstick skillet to lay all the spam pieces flat at one time to cook evenly.
• Musubi Mold: this is of course an optional kitchen equipment since you can always use your spam can as a mold for your spam musubi egg. However, I love using a musubi mold since it is so much easier and quicker to use than the spam can. Plus it is super affordable!

Ingredients

All of the ingredients to make this spam musubi with egg recipe can be found at your local Asian grocery store or online.

• Short Grain Sushi Rice: short grain sushi rice is the best type of rice for this breakfast musubi recipe. It is soft, sticky, and has a slight springiness to the bite.
• Rice Vinegar: a touch of rice vinegar seasons the rice and balances the flavor and richness of the spam.
• Salt: salt adds additional flavor and enhances the flavor of the rice vinegar.

• Spam: you can use the original Spam or the 25% less sodium Spam based on your salt level preferences for your spam and egg musubi.
• Soy Sauce: adds a hint of umami flavor and a beautiful golden glaze to the spam. For best results, use high-quality soy sauce since it is the main flavoring ingredient.
• Granulated Sugar: sugar sweetens the rice and creates a beautiful caramelized glaze texture over the spam and egg musubi.
• Eggs: you will need large eggs to make thinly rolled omelets for your spam musubi egg.
• Seaweed Sheets: you will need a large square roasted seaweed sheet. You will cut these seaweed sheets into 2-inch thick strips to wrap the spam musubi with egg.

Substitutions and Additions

This is your spam and eggs musubi. That means you can customize it however you please with whatever additional layers you want to add or remove. I’ve listed some suggestions for you below.

Substitutions

• Spam: there are so many varieties of spam flavors you can choose from. You can use spam lite, 25% less sodium, turkey spam, hot and spicy spam, or jalapeno spam.
• Rice: you can opt for medium-grain white rice, brown rice, or Jasmine white rice if you do not have sushi rice. Note that brown rice is less sticky and may not hold its shape as well so you may need to wrap the nori around the entire musubi for it to hold its shape.
• Hashbrown patty: for a true spam breakfast, you can swap out the rice for a hashbrown patty (my favorite are the Trader Joe’s kind).
• Waffle: if you like to make a salty and sweet breakfast musubi, you can substitute the rice with a mini waffle that is drizzled with maple syrup.
• Vegetarian: you can easily swap out the spam for an oyster mushroom or firm tofu for a vegetarian musubi.

Additions

• Bacon: for a complete breakfast musubi.
• Avocado: for added creaminess and texture.
• Shiso Leaf: is an aromatic Japanese herb that pairs well with seaweed
• Kimchi: for an added pickled crunch
• Furikake seasoning: for additional flavor to the rice
• Sriracha, chili oil, or Hot sauce: if you’d like a spicy spam musubi, go ahead and drizzle on some sriracha, chili oil, or your favorite hot sauce!

How to Make Spam Musubi with Egg

Making this delicious spam and eggs musubi recipe is really easy to make with only 5 simple steps. The hardest part is not eating all of them in one sitting!

1. Prepare the rice. Wash the rice until the water runs clear and drain. Cook the rice and water in your rice cooker or on the stove. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt until the sugar dissolves. Then drizzle the mixture over the cooked rice and carefully mix it with a rice paddle until combined.

2. Cook the spam. Slice the spam into ¼-inch thick slices. Using a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook the spam until browned and crispy on the edges for about 4 minutes, flip after 2 minutes for even cooking.

3. Caramelize the spam. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce and water into a small bowl. Turn the heat to medium-low heat and sprinkle the sugar evenly over the spam and flip the spam to evenly coat for about 30 seconds. Next, pour in the soy sauce mixture. Swirl the sauce and flip the spam to evenly distribute. Then let the spam gently simmer until the sauce dissolves around 4 minutes. Flip the spam slices every 2 minutes.

4. Make the egg omelet. Mix the eggs in a bowl until combined. In a medium 10-inch skillet over medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil and then wipe it down with a paper towel. Add ⅓ of the eggs onto the skillet and lift the skillet to evenly spread the eggs across the skillet. Cook until done. Remove the eggs from heat and roll the eggs into the same width of the spam about 2 inches. Then cut the eggs in half lengthwise to match the same length of the spam about 4 inches. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

5. Assemble. Add about ½ cup of rice into the musubi mold or plastic wrap-lined spam container and press down to fill the mold and allow the rice to stick together. Pull the rice out of the mold. Place a strip of nori onto your workstation. Then place the rice in the middle of the strip. Layer on the egg roll and then the caramelized spam. Tightly wrap the nori strip around the spam musubi with egg. Secure the end by wetting it with water and place the musubi with the seam side down. Continue with the remaining pieces.

Tips for the Best Spam Musubi with Egg

• Cook the spam until golden brown. It’s very important that you brown the spam on medium-high heat first. It renders some of the fat and creates a crispy base.
• Caramelize the spam on low heat. Make sure to use low heat to caramelize the spam or else the sugar will burn too quickly and turn bitter. If you have the patience to caramelize the spam over low heat, you will end up with a dark brown caramelized surface that is glossy and delicious.
• Evenly spread the eggs like a crepe. When creating the egg omelet, quickly spread the eggs over your pan to create a single even layer. This will ensure that you will have a thinly rolled egg for your spam and eggs musubi.
• Roll and Cut the egg omelet into the size of the spam can. When you roll the egg omelet, roll the eggs about 2 inches in width. Then when you cut the eggs cut them about 4 inches lengthwise so that each egg piece is the same size as the spam.
• Pack the rice. When shaping the rice, it is important that you add some pressure onto the mold and pack the rice together so that it will hold its shape.
• Seal the edges of the nori strip with a dap of water. To seal the ends of the seaweed strip, simply dip your finger in some cold water and seal the ends.

Storage Instructions

This spam and egg musubi is best served fresh. But if you have leftovers, wrap each individual musubi in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep in mind the rice will dry out and harden the longer they stay in the refrigerator.

Freeze: You can freeze the spam musubi with egg once you let it cool completely. Then wrap each one in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight freeze-proof container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.

Re-heat: remove the plastic, lightly cover the breakfast musubi with a damp paper towel and microwave until warm. If the rice is dried out, I suggest dropping a few drops of water onto the rice before microwaving.

Frequently Asked Q’s & A’s

What is spam musubi sauce made of?

The spam musubi sauce is made with sugar, water, and soy sauce that is gently simmered down on a skillet to create a golden caramelized coating on the spam.

Is Spam Musubi Hawaiian or Japanese?

Hawaiian. Barbara Funamura, a Japanese American woman from Hawaii, invented spam musubi during WWII. During wartime, Spam became a necessity for survival which then integrated into local dishes.

Can you make spam and eggs musubi without a mold?

Yes of course! You can check out our original spam musubi recipe to see how you create the spam musubi with the Spam can instead of a traditional mold.

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