I love Japanese food. And I love Monty Python. But the two can never blend.So when one blogger sent a URL describing Spam onigiri, I naturally launched into Monty Python's immortal "Spam Sketch" (Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam!....) while simultaneously dreaming about the taste of those glorious triangles of rice Japanese eat for lunch...until I stopped short.
Onigiri, in case you don't already know, are balls of sushi rice shaped into triangles, often with a little fish or sour plum tucked inside. They're home food - not something you're likely to find in restaurants -- A Japanese equivalent of the peanut butter & jelly sandwich. I got hooked as a Japanese exchange student back in high school, and my kids clamor for them today.
Spam, however. Not such positive association there. Canned meat products just don't elicit the same mouth-watering memories, for some reason.
Which is not to say that Spam onigiri might not be tasty. I mean if I'm going to salivate at the thought of a fermented plum in the middle of my rice balls, why not a salty slab o' Spam?
And apparently, Spam onigiri has its devoted followers. I'm told that Spam is popular in Hawaii. Among the Islanders or the huge Japanese population I'm not told, so it's anyone's guess where this unusual hybrid arose. But if it's good enough for them, maybe I should give it a try. And maybe the kids will eat it. If they don't see the can from whence the filling comes. Or the website.
What say you all? Should I expand my palate to include Spam onigiri?
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