Spam is different in Hawaii. Not in how it looks, feels, or tastes. It’s the same spam that you’d get in any grocery store in the US. The difference is that in Hawaii, spam is not just accepted, but celebrated. It’s something that’s shared, and helps bring people together. That’s partly because of the history of how spam became integrated into Hawaiian cuisine, but it’s continued to be embraced in Hawaii to this day.
I was curious to see how spam is approached in Hawaii, and how that might differ from the rest of the country. It was pretty clear that there was a popular way of preparing spam – spam musubi. In its simplest form, it is a slice of spam attached to a block of rice with dried seaweed, and as it can have ingredients like egg, avocado, and unagi added in, it has a lot of versatility. Spam musubi gives spam the ability to be a great portable snack, something you can grab on the go from a restaurant or grocery store.
By being a pocket snack, I think spam musubi has helped give spam personality. The fact that spam musubi is small, rounded, and easy-to-bring might make you just a little bit more attached to it.
One place where I noticed this was Musubi Cafe Iyasume, a popular spot around Honolulu. They have a ridiculously cute spam musubi mascot, which you can’t help but love. Whenever you need a quick meal between meetings or after work, it’s so easy to grab a couple of musubi there.
Because spam musubi is seen as a fun snack, it’s not uncommon to see plushes, keychains, and other trinkets giving it a happy persona. It’s almost as if spam musubi represents something – living in a certain Hawaiian way.
You can feel the pride for what spam means in Hawaii. I saw this street art mural, which has the ‘ham’ in Green Eggs and Ham replaced with ‘spam.’ The spam in the piece has a chipper expression as always, maybe with a hint of mischief, while the Dr. Seuss character looks at it with uncertainty. It’s as if the spam is saying, “Yes, this is Hawaii.”
One of the most interesting expressions of appreciation that I saw for this food was Spam KNITsubi, a way to turn anything into spam musubi. You can wrap it around your cup, or your arm, or your pet, and it’ll be transformed. It is a way for people to be creative and fun with spam musubi. To me, this really shows how deep the love goes.
Food is often an important part of culture and community. Coffee is beloved by Australians. Pies are popular in the UK. But there’s something about the connection between Hawaiians and spam that stood out to me. It was amazing to see how they express appreciation for this food—it’s on a whole new level, a cultural phenomenon. The love for spam is contagious, and now I won’t be able to pass this canned treat again without transporting my mind back to Hawaii.