Bringing A Little Ahola Home (aka SPAM Blog)

I posted an album on Facebook that included the food pictures that we took on our recent vacation to Hawaii. One of the things that make Hawaii our paradise is the room. It is all good, and it spans everything that makes food memorable. Two of our favorite Hawaii specials are Saimin and Spam Masubi. Recently we decided to do our best and bring a little ahola to Brooklyn.

Spam Masubi.

I know most of my friends cannot get down with the Spam. But I really have to question your judgment. Have you had Spam? Probably no. Can you really talk smack about a food you haven't tried? Do you eat hot dogs? Probably yes. I do not really see the difference between a hot dog and Spam. It is all pink hodgepodge goodness. Filipinos (me) and Hawaiians (them) are big on Spam for the same reason. The Americans brought it with them to our islands. Now your average American is turning their nose up at this awesome food, when it is your fault we eat it in the first place. Spam is by no means good for you, it is filled with preservatives, sodium, fat, and is processed beyond belief, but it is not very different from the cheese doodles you are snacking on or the MSG in your General Chow's Chicken.

Back to Spam Masubi. In its most simple form it is a hulk of rice with a piece of Spam on top wrapped in nori. I made a copy of the Spam Masubi we had in Kauai at Joe's. After figuring out the ratio of rice to Spam to egg, I did pretty well. I used the empty Spam can as my mold, and my maki making skills that I previously learned to shape it. It was fun to make, and next time I am going to use fried rice!


Saimin

Saimin is like really awesome ramen noodles. A good bowl of Saimin is better than a great bowl of soba noodles. There are tons of ways you can throw together a bowl of Saimin. You can clean out the fridge essentially. Derek made us bowls of Saimin last Sunday. He included, noodles, imitation crab, chicken dumplings, Spam, scallions, garlic, and eggs. It came out really awesome, especially after we threw in some hot sauce.


Recreating the food you enjoyed on a vacation is the best way to bring yourself back to that place. Especially if you put on some island music and have some coconut candy for dessert.