Soy-glazed Spam Musubi

The kids favorite snack (meal by how many they can eat at a time) but it's always so expensive to buy at their favorite Hawaiian restaurant. When I'm not lazy, I like to make this version for them and we do it in bulk - the recipe doubles easy and I actually put less rice in each musubi for them.

SOURCE: From Alana Kysar’s Aloha Kitchen Cookbook
Makes 8 musubi

• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon mirin
• 1 to 2 teaspoons neutral oil (we just used extra virgin olive oil)
• One 12-ounce can Spam Less Sodium, cut horizontally into 8 slices (clean the can and set aside for use in this recipe if you don’t have a musubi mold!)
• 3 sheets roasted sushi nori, cut into thirds crosswise
• 2 teaspoons furikake
• 5-6 cups cooked short-grain rice (we used sushi rice)

Directions:

1. Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, and mirin. Set aside.
2. Lightly coat the bottom of a large skillet with the oil and heat over medium heat until sizzling. Fry Spam slices until evenly browned and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes each side, bringing the heat to low for the last minute of cooking, then turn off the heat.
3. Pour soy mixture into skillet and turn Spam slices to evenly coat them. The mixture is going to cook down quickly, so don’t leave them unattended! Transfer immediately to a plate.
4. Place a strip of nori rough side up on a cutting board or clean work surface. Line the cleaned, empty Spam can with plastic wrap and press one slice of Spam all the way down to the bottom of the can.
5. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon furikake over the Spam slice. Take 1/2 cup (loosely packed) cooked sushi rice and pack it into the can as well, pressing with your fingers until the rice is evenly, firmly patted down and flat.
6. Pull the stack of rice and sliced Spam out of the can by pulling out the plastic wrap, then place the stack Spam-side down onto the strip of nori.
7. Bring both ends of nori up to meet in the middle of the rice. If needed, you can wet your finger and rub it along one end of the nori to help it stick to itself. Flip musubi over so the seam faces down, and go back to step 4 with all the remaining ingredients. Serve immediately or store wrapped in plastic wrap for later.