Spam

It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails,

admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."

-- Franklin D. Roosevelt 

Visitors to Hawaii may be surprised and even puzzled why SPAM is so popular on the islands. Spam has made its way into a lot of local dishes. You will find it listed on restaurant menus, stacked high in the grocery store,served in sandwiches and even stir fried into vegetables. Also it has made its way into Asian cuisine here as a sushi item.

Hawaii remains the largest by state consumers of SPAM with roughly 5.6 cans of SPAM per year on average for residents. Yikes! I am from Minnesota, the state where the Hormel company is located in Austin, and it is not nearly as popular there as in Hawaii.

I have been on a mission for some explanations why this is such a popular product here. The best one I have come up so far is SPAM is portable, durable,doesn't require refrigeration and is economical.  

SPAM was first introduced during World War II by American soldiers to Hawaiian natives who quickly adopted it as important part of their diet.

SPAM remains part of our pop culture and folklore with many urban legends about the mystery ingredients. I did check on exactly what these ingredients were and have chosen to pass on listing them in this post. You will have to check for yourself :)

Spam Musubi

This is a menu item that is quite popular and you will find it in Sushi bars/deli. It is a snack item made up of a slice of fried SPAM on a bed of rice wrapped with a strip of nori (Japanese name for edible seaweed).

This photo I took is another variation of SPAM Musubi 

 this is link on a tutorial on how to make SPAM musubi 

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/04/tutorial-how-to-make-hawaiian-spam-musubi-sushi.html 

So maybe SPAM is that easy quick menu idea you have been searching for