Hawaii Maki
Is sushi sacred? If it is, this recipe is some straight up blasphemy. But who really cares when it tastes so good?
A step up from a plain old spam musubi, this maki pays tribute to Japan and Hawaii, with a hit of pineapple, sweet teriyaki sauce and, of course, good old meat in a can.
NOTE: I like to use sushi seasoning powder because it doesn’t add any extra liquid to the rice, keeping it nice and sticky – and I learnt to from a Japanese cook, so it’s totally acceptable, okay? But if you prefer, use liquid sushi seasoning from a bottle or even make your own.
Ingredients:
1 can of spam, cut into thin finger length sticks
1/4 pineapple, cored and cut into thin finger length sticks
1 avocado, deseeded, peeled and sliced thinly
1 1/4 cup freshly cooked Japanese short grain rice
Up to 1 packet of sushi rice seasoning powder
2 large sheets of nori seaweed
For the teriyaki sauce:
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon water
To serve:
Japanese mayonnaise
Sriracha chilli sauce
Japanese Furikake sprinkle or sesame seeds
First, heat up a frying pan over a medium-high heat, and wipe with a little oil. Fry the spam sticks until they are golden brown and slightly crisp on the edges. Stir the teriyaki sauce ingredients together, then pour into the saucepan. Toss the spam sticks around, until the teriyaki sauce has reduced and is glazing the spam, creating a nice sticky, shiny surface. Set aside and let cool.
Sprinkle the sushi rice seasoning powder (or liquid seasoning) over the cooked rice, and fold the rice over itself with a spatula to mix. Add the seasoning bit by bit, tasting after each addition, until you’ve got your perfect sushi rice.
Lay the nori sheet down, with the rough side facing up, on a bamboo sushi mat. Spread half the rice out on top of the nori, leaving a little edge unfilled. On the part of the rice closest to you, create a neat line of spam, pineapple and avocado on top of the rice. Now, with confidence, grab hold of the bamboo mat and roll away from you as tightly as you can. At the end, give the sushi roll a light squeeze, and unfurl the mat. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Dampen the blade a sharp knife, and cut the long sushi into small rolls. Place on your serving plate and drizzle with Japanese mayonnaise, Sriracha and furikake to serve.
