Week 26 (2023) - Served Cold

Remember last year's deconstructed challenge when I made a spam musubi bowl and counted it for the AtWCC, because I was probably never going to make spam musubi without a mold? Well.... fast-forward a year to the Week 26 challenge for this year, served cold. I decided on a Hawaiian-style macaroni salad from the Tastemade Make This Tonight cookbook, and the only not-hot thing I could think to make with it was spam musubi. This turned out even better than the spam musubi bowls I made last time, so this is definitely also counting for the AtWCC.

To make the musubi, I used actual sushi rice and didn't marinate the spam this time, following a recipe from Noodles and Buns which used the can as a mold. It was surprisingly easy. Make the rice, pan-fry the spam and add the sauce, let it all cool a little bit, cut the strips of nori, and then line the can with plastic wrap for use as a mold. The rice gets packed in on the bottom, spam on top, and then it's lifted out, wrapped with nori, and it's done. I was shocked at how well it worked once I got into the rhythm of making them. They tasted really good, and there was also far less sauce than the other recipe which was good for my current need to lower my sodium intake. Now that I know how easy it is to make, the only "problem" is that I now kind of want to make spam musubi all the time, which is not exactly the healthiest diet.

For the mac salad, the main ingredients were elbow macaroni, white onion, vinegar, garlic powder, (vegan) mayo, milk, sugar, seasonings, scallions, shredded carrots, and celery. The recipe also had togarashi but I didn't have time to get that, so added some other seasonings to it instead. Made in advance and chilled for the entire afternoon and evening until it was time to eat, this was delicious. I may have had a small box of it on my own while making the musubi, because I couldn't wait. B may not have eaten much of these other than the spam itself, but A and I were so happy with our Hawaiian dinner!