I have tried Spam in all manner of dishes over the past few years. I have recited the squawky lines from the classic Monty Python sketch as I’ve created my own, including frying it directly into pancakes when they dropped that limited-edition pumpkin spice Spam on us back in 2019.
And when I heard that this was National Canned Luncheon Meat Week, there was nothing that could keep me from writing about it in what I believe to be its most delicious format: musubi.
As I observed back then, Spam’s primary flavor profile is salt. Then pork. It is best when griddled.
And there is nothing that offsets this wondrous assault on the taste buds more beautifully than sushi rice, firm and fluffy, along with a whisper of sweet and heat and fishy-nutty furikake — all of it wrapped in the gloriously chewy umami of nori.
SPAM Pumpkin Spice means this trend really will last forever. On your shelf.
It is flavor. It is texture. It is everything.
Its origins are debated — some trace Spam musubi to the island of Kauai, specifically to the kitchen of a Japanese-American woman named Barbara Funamura; others believe it was a creation borne of the Japanese internment camps of World War II — but it is indisputably delicious.
I’ve had it with kimchi. I’ve had it with avocado. Most recently, I had it volcano-style. I love it all. You might, too. So, in celebration of this shelf-stable marvel of relatively modern culinary engineering, here’s a short list of places you can try it in Orlando.
Musubimomma’s Brandy Ford strikes a pose in front of her newly painted trailer, which debuts this week. (Courtesy Musubimomma)
Musubimomma
New from the folks who brought you Hanalei Shave Ice: Musubimomma!
Brandy Ford’s biz has been bringing icy aloha to The City Beautiful for a few years now and, over time, began adding other Hawaiian eats to her tiny shave ice trailer, including malasadas and Spam musubi.
“We had such high demand, we couldn’t keep up,” says Ford, and so the spammy handhelds became a pre-order thing. “We’re a tiny, tiny business. We could only carry about 50 with us, tops.”
Courtesy Musubimomma)
But not anymore, as there’s a brand-new “Spamper” in her food trailer armada.
Musubimomma makes its debut this week and will be slinging spam alongside its sister biz of Hanalei all weekend, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at The Heavy in Winter Park in a number of varieties, including classic, egg, turkey Spam, Portuguese sausage, Filipino tocino, and one that’s meat-free, just rice, sauce, furikake and nori.
“Most people don’t realize how convenient musubi is,” says Ford, noting its popularity at Hawaiian convenience stores. “You can literally stuff it in your pocket, and it’s not going to go bad. It’s a grab-and-go. Something you take to the beach, It’s good warm, room temp and it’s good cold.”
Follow Musubimomma on Instagram to see where the “Spamper” will be popping up throughout July.
This weekend at The Heavy: 1152 Harmon Ave. in Winter Park; instagram.com/musubimomma
Dang Boba & Musubi House owners Daniel Dang and Raven Nguyen pose in front of original chalk art in their East Orlando shop. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
Dang Boba & Musubi House
Husband and wife team Daniel Dang and Raven Nguyen opened what’s now their chef-named tea and musubi house eight years ago as a Quickly USA, but decided to go indie when COVID-19 came around, which allowed them to expand the menu with their own recipes — including creative takes on musubi, one of Dang’s favorite snacks.
“He’s a sauce man,” Nguyen tells me. “They’re all his. The sweet soy sauce, the spicy mayo … a lot of people ask if we sell it.”
Alas, the secret sauces will stay with Dang, whose love of musubi (and pleasing customers) has spawned a multitude of versions, including some Spam alternatives, like soy garlic chicken that gets a tenderizing sous vide treatment. Teriyaki tofu and cuke-avocado hit big with the vegan/vegetarian set.
All the musubi at Dang Boba & Musubi House is made to order and served wonderfully warm. Pictured here: the classic and the Volcano varieties. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
Both Dang and Nguyen come from Disney culinary backgrounds and aren’t just Orlando natives but UCF alumni who, after getting married and having kids, decided to raise their family back in the Knights’ home territory.
To add a little spice, Dang came up with the volcano musubi, a house favorite featuring two slabs, cut in half and layered with a torched topping he makes in-house.
“It’s like a meal,” says Nguyen. “Lots of food.”
And lots of lovely beverages to pair it with. Check ’em out.
If you go: 11772 E. Colonial Drive in Orlando, 407-930-2233; instagram.com/dangbobamusubihouse
Musubi: great on the go. (Courtesy Joe Sarrubbo)
Aloha Hawaiian Kitchen
They’re new on the block here in town (and the ahi-stuffed inari and ube-filled “alohasada” pics I’ve seen floating around will have me in there soon, I reckon), but if you’re in the area and looking for a power-up, musubi’s most certainly on the menu!
If you go: 6125 S. Semoran Blvd. in Orlando, 321-247-5042; alohahawaiiankitchen.com
The new Ono Mac Musubi from OverRice. (Courtesy OverRice)
OverRice
“We did musubi years ago, and no one paid any mind to them at all,” OverrRice chef/owner Joel Paoner tells me.
They stopped for a while, then put ’em back on just before COVID-19, and since then, for whatever reason, their popularity has been growing exponentially.
“I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s nostalgia. I mean, it’s just Spam. But people love the stuff.”
Paoner lived in Hawaii for a decade many moons back and admires the handheld for its “Hawaiian-ness,” in that its a nice encapsulation of the melting pot our 50th state is. Plus, it’s fun to play with.
He and wife/partner Mayra have churned out some creative ones, including a panko-crusted, deep-fried version, but this week decided to put their plate lunch-reminiscent Ono Mac Musubi on the menu, which neatly mimics the heaping dishes you’d get at Zippy’s, complete with the killer, two-carb combo so popular in the islands.
Crisp atchara brings sour-sweet balance to fried ‘n’ fatty Filipino fare
Since opening their new outpost at À La Cart SoDo (you’ll also find them on Lee Road while the truck is at Lake Eola every Sunday), they’ve even started taking requests.
“We’ve basically been putting whatever people want in them,” he says. “If someone says ‘can you put [X] in it for me?’ if we have it, yeah, no problem.”
Musubi Tuesdays are a thing at OverRice. Come for the special and you can opt in on their fun brand of Hawaiian and Filipino fare, too.
If you go: 1084 Lee Road in Orlando or at À La Cart SoDo, 2207 E. Michigan St. in Orlando; 386-416-9030; overricecfl.com
The spicy musubi from Sweet & Salty Island Grindz, aka the Hawaiian power bar. (Courtesy Sweet & Salty Island Grindz)
Sweet & Salty Island Grindz
If you can find me a $4 spend at Henry’s Depot that’ll get me fuller than the spicy musubi at this fine establishment, I want to know. Meantime, heed what chef/owner Will Adkison says.
“Spam musubi is da kine comfort food. Even the most picky eaters stay satisfied when they eat ’em.”
They’ve got classic and pineapple versions, too, but I wouldn’t advise eating them all in one sitting. Especially if you want to save room for that Loco Moco Burger.
If you go: Located inside Henry’s Depot, 211 W. First St. in Sanford, sweetandsaltygrindz.com)
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
