Spam Onigirazu

1. Before You Start: Gather all the ingredients. For the steamed rice, please note that 1⅛ cups (1½ rice cooker cups, 225 g) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yields about 3⅜ cups (495 g) of cooked rice. See how to cook short-grain rice with a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
2. For the 6 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell), heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan and cook the eggs as you like; cook the eggs in batches if necessary. (I cooked the egg over hard, which is a fried egg turned over and cooked until the yolk is solid.) Transfer to a plate when they are cooked.
3. Meanwhile, remove the meat from 1 small can SPAM® (7 oz) and cut into long slices ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. You’ll get about 6–7 slices. Once the eggs are cooked, add the Spam slices to the pan and cook both sides until nicely browned. Transfer the Spam slices onto a plate.
4. Turn down the heat to medium low and add 1 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp sake, and 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Mix well quickly.
5. Transfer the Spam slices back to the pan and coat well with the sauce.

To Wrap the Onigirazu

1. Place plastic wrap on a working surface and put a sheet of nori seaweed on top (shiny side facing down), with a corner pointing up. Evenly spread a thin layer of steamed rice (about ¼ cup) in a thin layer and form into a square shape in the center of the nori sheet. I’m using an onigirazu mold.
2. Sprinkle a little bit of Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 1 Tbsp furikake (rice seasoning). Salt is added to prevent the food from spoiling as we eat onigiri, onigirazu, and bento at room temperature and typically without refrigeration.
3. Place the fried egg and Spam slice on top.
4. Place 1 leaf lettuce and thin layer of steamed rice on top, maintaining a nice rectangular/square shape.
5. Now, if you have an onigirazu mold, pull up the mold carefully. Remember to moist the “lid” before you press down so rice does not get stuck to it.
6. Bring left and right corners of nori sheet towards the center. Fold gently but tightly to wrap around the layers at the center.
7. Then bring bottom and top corners towards the center. Continue to fold gently but tightly around the layers. Make sure the rice is tucked in nicely.
8. If you‘d like your onigirazu to showcase the filling after cutting it in half, mark the slicing direction with a piece of rice or lettuce strip perpendicular to the filling. When you add the filling, you can decide which way you want to cut it so the layers look the best when revealed. I cut mine in half lengthwise.
9. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside for 5 minutes with the nori’s seam side down.

To Serve

1. Cut the onigirazu with a sharp knife (following the mark that tells you which direction to cut). Run your knife in running water before cutting so that the cross-section will be clean.

To Store

1. If you plan to make this the previous night, wrap the onigirazu with a kitchen towel and keep in the refrigerator overnight. The towel will prevent the rice from getting hard from the cold temperature. Eat within 24 hours.