Hawaiian fusion Spam snack or lunch food looks like a meaty sushi roll, made LFG with sticky rice, nori sheets, sweet soy sauce and a Spam swap you won't believe.
If you've ever been to Hawaii, you've seen and hopefully experienced Musubi. And even if you haven't, these little babies are making their way into Hawaiian restaurants across the country. Musubi is traditionally made with Spam.
Having grown up in Minnesota, where Hormel is king, I'm no stranger to Spam, nor am I above it. Truth be told, I love it. It's salty and piggy and tastes great in hash with eggs, and yes, musubi.
But let's face it, Spam is not approved for those of us on special gut-healing diets like Plant Paradox, Whole30, AIP, Paleo or Keto. Eating to heal the gut is all about making the right choices. A few swaps and we can enjoy the foods we love.
I found a swap that really does the trick for Spam lovers. It's Applegate Organic Grassfed Uncured Beef Hot Dogs. They're so yummy, and when you fry them in the "sweet soy" sauce made with coconut aminos and Swerve granules, these dogs taste very much like the Spam musubi I know and love. Read on for the recipe.
The Recipe
(makes 12 rolls)
LFG Musubi
1 C Sticky Rice (Cauliflower or Regular)
4 Sheets Sushi Nori
6 Applegate Organic Grassfed Hot Dogs
3 T Fermented Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos
1 T Swerve granules
Instructions:
Step 1: Make Sticky Rice
First make the sticky rice. You could use cauliflower rice or jasmine white rice depending on your preference. For cauliflower sticky rice, first cook a cup of riced cauliflower until tender, then mix in 1 T grassfed organic full-fat cream cheese and chill for at least 1 hour. For jasmine white rice, just use the rice setting on your pressure cooker. Add 1/2 cup rice to 1 1/4 cups water water seasoned with 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar, and 1/2 t salt. Seal the lid and press the “rice” button.
Step 2: Fry the Hot Dogs
Cut the hot dogs in half lengthwise, then cut the lengths in half. See image. In a large frying pan, fry the hotdogs in soy sauce or coconut aminos and Swerve for about 5 minutes until the dogs are heated and have soaked in the sauce. Keep any sauce leftover to spoon into the musubi rolls later.
Step 3: Roll the Musubi
Cut three sheets of Nori into thirds. See image. Work on a cutting board. Place a heaping tablespoon of sticky rice onto the middle of a cut sheet. With wet fingertips or a wet butter knife, square off the sides and ends of the rice. Place two sauce soaked hot dog segments onto the rice. Wrap the nori tightly around the rice and dog, and wet the end to hold secure. See image. Repeat until all the musubi is rolled. Spoon any leftover sauce into the rolls. The rice will soak it up.
You can eat these now while their fresh and warm or wrap them in plastic and pack them in kids' lunches. My 11 year old son absolutely loves these.
Pair with an aged Japanese whiskey, er, but serve your kids a jasmine iced green tea.
Ke Aloha!