Cook rice according to your rice cooker instruction or see the recipe *7
When the rice been cooked, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds into the rice and combine them.
Cut the nori sheet into 6 strips and set aside.
Open the spam tin and carefully wash the empty tin for later use.
Slice the spam ham into 6 slices of even thickness, lengthwise.
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add the sliced Spam. Cook and brown one side for about 2-3 min.
Flip them all and cook and brown thoroughly for another 2-3 min. *8
Turn the heat off and transfer the spam slices on to a kitchen paper lined plate. Set aside.
Clean and remove all the oil left in the frying pan and add all sauce ingredients into the pan over low heat.
Stir continuously and when the sauce is thickened, put the Spam slices back into the frying pan and coat the spam with the sauce. Turn the heat off.
Line the washed spam tin with cling wrap and put 1/6 of the cooked rice into the tin.
Press the rice down with a Japanese pestle or with your hand.
Remove the pressed rice with cling wrap by pulling out the end of cling wrap.
Open up the cling wrap. Top with a fried spam. *9
Place the nori strip over on the centre of the spam and wrap over the spam and rice ball (musubi).
Tack both ends of nori strip under the Spam musubi.
Video
Notes
*1 Choose short grain Japonica such as "Koshihikari" because they are sticky enough to keep the shape and will not crumble. *2 If you prefer, instead of adding sesame seeds to the cooked rice, you can sprinkle Furikake rice seasonings over top of the plain cooked rice ball. *3 Do not discard the tin. Wash the tin and use it as the rice ball mould. The smaller size Spam tin is perfect height for this. Also if you prefer, you can replace Spam with firm Tofu pieces instead. Slice about same thickness and place the tin over the piece and cut around the tin.*4 If you don't have sake ( Japanese rice wine), you can substitute this with Chinese wine or dry sherry. *5 If you don't have rice vinegar, you can substitute with white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. *6 If you don't have potato starch you can substitute with cornstarch. *7 See How to cook rice Japanese way *8 This step is important to render some fats off Spam slices. *9 If you are going to use Furikake rice seasoning sprinkle the furikake over the pressed rice ball at this stage.