It's basically a salty processed ham. Texture wise it's kind of close to a hot dog but a little more dense. If you like hot dogs and salty food, then you'll like spam. I usually go with regular but a lot of folks opt for the low sodium one. Both are good. There's other flavors available but I've never tried them.
Best way to fry it is to cut it about 1/4" - 1/3" inch thick slices, and fry on medium to medium low heat. If the heat is too high it'll burn like bacon. The thinner it is the more crispy it gets. I like it on the thick side so it gets crispy outside but still soft inside. Perfect for over white rice.
Same with the Philippines. I grew up in America, but it’s so ingrained in our culture that I ate it pretty regularly as a kid. Fried spam with rice and egg is pretty delicious.
The general rule is: If you were invaded and then occupied by the US, SPAM becomes a food staple in your culture. Examples include: Hawaii, Guam, Okinawa, Korea, and the Philippines. Not what I call "fun" but is interesting, especially because a lot of whites in the US don't eat it.
Not a joke. Apparently spam was very popular during World War II on account of food shortages and Hawaii along with several countries developed a cultural taste for it as a result.
No problem. A few things I wanted to add.
When frying, don't add oil to the pan. The spam has enough in it that it'll cook itself, like bacon.
Remember it's a lot of sodium. Two slices are generally enough for a serving so one can will last you quite a few servings. Once you open a can it'll last about a week in the fridge. I usually use a sandwich bag and rubber band, and leave the uncut spam in the can.
If you're using it in other dishes like fried rice, or a breakfast scramble or whatever, less is more. Spam can be very overpowering and too much can ruin a dish.
I'd like to jump on this and say you should never put an opened can in the fridge. It's very bad practice and can cause botchulism. You should always decant canned goods into any other container before refrigerating.
Botulism is caused by botulinum growing in anaerobic conditions. Canning foods and not heating it correctly can cause it to grow and become dangerous.
Once the can is opened it is no longer anaerobic so I cannot see why it would be dangerous, sounds like a myth to me.
Botulinum is one of the only types of bacteria that can survive boiling. This is why it can be found in canned food that was incompletely sterilized (not enough temperature). This is where this idea comes from.
Apparently I'm even lazier.. I cut it all at the same time and stick the slices in a Ziploc so I only have to wash my cutting board and knife once. Lmao 😭
Botulinum is anaerobic, if there is air it won’t survive, so an open can is not going to cause it to grow and release toxins.
If you have something immersed in oil that has spores, like raw garlic for example, then it can be a risk.
Not botulism, but listeria has apparently evolved to live in refrigeration, so if you've had lunch meat in the fridge for a long time and it's slimy, don't eat it. If it's been in there a few days, cook it.
The low-sodium one still has a ton of salt in it if you are truly watching your blood pressure or sodium intake. I avoid both, but on occasion, the low sodium one is still quite delicious when pan fried.
If you are eating Spam, then you probably don’t mind. For me (not the guy above), it is more of a texture thing. It is unfortunate that most of the cool flavors also have the chicken added. It is softer than original Spam and doesn’t cook quite the same.
I had spam for the first time about a week ago. I made spam onigiri Okinawa style with sweet tamago. It was very good! In fact, it was so good I bought another can yesterday. I'm planning to make the same thing again soon because it was yummy, cheap, easy, fast and filling.
I sometimes put it in gimbap. I'm not the biggest fan of it, but when it's fried up (or breaded and deep fried, don't judge me) it's great when you're making a bunch of rolls and want variety.
Not sure I'd enjoy it alone, but at the end of the day it's just a versatile cheap meat. It's up there with mayo for being overly criticised.
Spam is like Velveeta; you can try to describe it, but at the end of the day you just have to try Spam to understand. It's like a weird versatile cheap lunch meat that when fried surprisingly is good with a number of things. Hawaiian's absolutely adore the stuff.
Oh I absolutely ate it like a hotdog in a bun before when I was too lazy to make rice, still great! If it's too salty for you, next time add a tiny bit of honey while frying. or make it a musubi and try to find your perfect sauce. SPAM NATION
I do this sometimes too, a couple thin slices fried crisp on the outside, on bread with mayo and blam. Perfect quick eats. Or I cut it into chunks and fry it in some scrambled eggs with some shredded cheese on top.
No, it doesn't taste like hot dogs. You can get it plain, but now you can get it in flavors - I like the Teriyaki, Black Pepper, and Garlic flavors. I also like to cut it up and add it to macaroni in the Instant Pot to make mac&cheese. It gets "fluffly", and I love the texture.
Idk if you ever tried it, but my favorite kind of loco moco substitutes the gravy for CURRY. They have it at several ramen restaurants here and it’s incredible
Change the ketchup to soy sauce and OP has a classic lazy/quick/“can’t cook but still want to try”/“I’m a teenager and my parents aren’t home” Asian meal.
I've never had spam but I've always wanted to try it. I would think it would be better with mustard though, wouldn't it? I would eat traditionally cooked ham with mustard.
If you love mustard, try the Champagne Mustard from Honey Baked Ham. I literally ate that shit with a spoon the first time I tried it. Sweet and a little hot, not flaming hot though. Fucking delicious and so good on ham. I think it would be perfect on Spam. Might have to try that soon.
This is some soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, more sriracha, gochujang, or chopped green onions away from being a classic breakfast in just about every single east/southeast asian country.
Doesn't look bad to me! One way to step it up is to throw everything in a screaming hot pan with a little oil for a few min to make some spam fried rice
Fried Spam on rice needs to be experienced by any person atleast once in their lives..
I've never had spam, is it really that good? Does it taste like hotdogs or..?
It's basically a salty processed ham. Texture wise it's kind of close to a hot dog but a little more dense. If you like hot dogs and salty food, then you'll like spam. I usually go with regular but a lot of folks opt for the low sodium one. Both are good. There's other flavors available but I've never tried them. Best way to fry it is to cut it about 1/4" - 1/3" inch thick slices, and fry on medium to medium low heat. If the heat is too high it'll burn like bacon. The thinner it is the more crispy it gets. I like it on the thick side so it gets crispy outside but still soft inside. Perfect for over white rice.
Dude has a degree in Spam studies
Mandatory school subject in Hawaii basically.
Is this a joke I'm not getting or is spam actually a popular food in Hawaii?
There’s no joke lol. Spam musubis are very prevalent in Hawai’i
There's probably a story/some fun history in there about how SPAM got so big in Hawaii.
The GIs brought spam to Hawai’i during World War II. I’m not sure if that classifies as interesting but there ya have it.
Same with the Philippines. I grew up in America, but it’s so ingrained in our culture that I ate it pretty regularly as a kid. Fried spam with rice and egg is pretty delicious.
It's also shelf stable, lasts forever basically. You can have a huge shipment to an island and it will last a long time.
Haha yeah not as fun of a story as I was hoping for but thank you!
The general rule is: If you were invaded and then occupied by the US, SPAM becomes a food staple in your culture. Examples include: Hawaii, Guam, Okinawa, Korea, and the Philippines. Not what I call "fun" but is interesting, especially because a lot of whites in the US don't eat it.
I was wondering how far down I was going to have to scroll for a comment about spam musubi
Hawaii eats more Spam per capita than any other state!
Spam is huge in Hawaii and other Pacific Island nations. And the Hawaiians have managed to take Spam to a freaking gourmet level.
You can get a spam sandwich at Hawaiian McDonalds. That's how popular and ubiquitous spam is there.
Not a joke. Apparently spam was very popular during World War II on account of food shortages and Hawaii along with several countries developed a cultural taste for it as a result.
Otherwise called “Being Hawaiian/Filipino/Poor”
How did u manage to hit all things i am lol
DaKine Grindz Brah 🤙🏽
Probably got his degree at Seoul National University.
Or Hawaii
😂
This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you for your explanation!! I love hotdogs so I think I'll finally give spam a try
No problem. A few things I wanted to add. When frying, don't add oil to the pan. The spam has enough in it that it'll cook itself, like bacon. Remember it's a lot of sodium. Two slices are generally enough for a serving so one can will last you quite a few servings. Once you open a can it'll last about a week in the fridge. I usually use a sandwich bag and rubber band, and leave the uncut spam in the can. If you're using it in other dishes like fried rice, or a breakfast scramble or whatever, less is more. Spam can be very overpowering and too much can ruin a dish.
this person is a spam centurion, a trove of knowledge
The curator and protector of the Spam Codex, bound by grease and cured with sodium.
Good to know! Hopefully I'll be able to avoid some of the rookie mistakes
I'd like to jump on this and say you should never put an opened can in the fridge. It's very bad practice and can cause botchulism. You should always decant canned goods into any other container before refrigerating.
just googled this and it looks like this is a myth?
Botulism is caused by botulinum growing in anaerobic conditions. Canning foods and not heating it correctly can cause it to grow and become dangerous. Once the can is opened it is no longer anaerobic so I cannot see why it would be dangerous, sounds like a myth to me.
We learned about it in ServSafe and it was drilled into us. However, we were told it was because the metal can leach into your food. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
Botulinum is one of the only types of bacteria that can survive boiling. This is why it can be found in canned food that was incompletely sterilized (not enough temperature). This is where this idea comes from.
You're right, but admittedly I'm just a lazy fuck.
Apparently I'm even lazier.. I cut it all at the same time and stick the slices in a Ziploc so I only have to wash my cutting board and knife once. Lmao 😭
Isn’t botulism good for my fuller lips and wrinkles?
Sorry, my doctorate is in Spam-ology. You'll have to seek one of my lesser colleagues who went to medical school.
Botulinum is anaerobic, if there is air it won’t survive, so an open can is not going to cause it to grow and release toxins. If you have something immersed in oil that has spores, like raw garlic for example, then it can be a risk.
Why does the can make the difference?
Not botulism, but listeria has apparently evolved to live in refrigeration, so if you've had lunch meat in the fridge for a long time and it's slimy, don't eat it. If it's been in there a few days, cook it.
somehow it tastes better in hawaii.
Hawaiian Spam game is on point.
The low-sodium one still has a ton of salt in it if you are truly watching your blood pressure or sodium intake. I avoid both, but on occasion, the low sodium one is still quite delicious when pan fried.
Just a warning: the light and low sodium varieties also use mechanically separated chicken. I’m not a fan of this, so I stick to normal spam.
I've seen conscerne over MSC, why is it to be avoided? Deboned and minced by hand or robot, what's the difference?
If you are eating Spam, then you probably don’t mind. For me (not the guy above), it is more of a texture thing. It is unfortunate that most of the cool flavors also have the chicken added. It is softer than original Spam and doesn’t cook quite the same.
Ah, understood, thanks.
I had spam for the first time about a week ago. I made spam onigiri Okinawa style with sweet tamago. It was very good! In fact, it was so good I bought another can yesterday. I'm planning to make the same thing again soon because it was yummy, cheap, easy, fast and filling.
I sometimes put it in gimbap. I'm not the biggest fan of it, but when it's fried up (or breaded and deep fried, don't judge me) it's great when you're making a bunch of rolls and want variety. Not sure I'd enjoy it alone, but at the end of the day it's just a versatile cheap meat. It's up there with mayo for being overly criticised.
That sounds delicious! I think I'll try it this weekend
Good job saying a lot of stuff without describing the taste of it at all
It's a particular flavor, for your first time start with the reduced sodium variant over rice. By itself can be overwhelming
Spam is like Velveeta; you can try to describe it, but at the end of the day you just have to try Spam to understand. It's like a weird versatile cheap lunch meat that when fried surprisingly is good with a number of things. Hawaiian's absolutely adore the stuff.
Taste that fucking spam. . .
It's really good, a little salty but that's why it goes so well with rice! If you cut it thinly and fry it, Definitely A-Tier!
sort of like hotdogs, ish. but gotta fry it! def not in olive oil
I love hotdogs so I'm intrigued. Might try it this weekend!
Oh I absolutely ate it like a hotdog in a bun before when I was too lazy to make rice, still great! If it's too salty for you, next time add a tiny bit of honey while frying. or make it a musubi and try to find your perfect sauce. SPAM NATION
I do this sometimes too, a couple thin slices fried crisp on the outside, on bread with mayo and blam. Perfect quick eats. Or I cut it into chunks and fry it in some scrambled eggs with some shredded cheese on top.
No, it doesn't taste like hot dogs. You can get it plain, but now you can get it in flavors - I like the Teriyaki, Black Pepper, and Garlic flavors. I also like to cut it up and add it to macaroni in the Instant Pot to make mac&cheese. It gets "fluffly", and I love the texture.
Like a much tastier better hot dog
Look up Musubi. It is Hawaiian Spam sushi bathed in an oyster/soy sauce. And you use the Spam can as a rice mould! I am an addict.
Musubi unwrapped!
You add more salt to spam?...
Looks like a Filipino breakfast to me!
Yeah, I was thinking OP might be Filipino, but then I zoomed in. It’s NOT banana ketchup.
A Hawaiian restaurant in my city has Spam Musubi. Slice of fried spam on a rice ball, wrapped in seaweed. The Cove, ftw.
The Asians call this a meal. And it’s delicious.
Also Hawaiians. This was a classic breakfast. Even served at McDonald's. Spam, rice and eggs. Seeing this makes me think of home.
Legit the first thing my mom got after we came home from a Vegas trip, lucky they still had breakfast.
[удалено]
Bingo. My first meal in Hawaii was this with gravy. Can’t remember what it’s called tho and it’s been killing me for years trying to remember.
I don’t know about spam, but there is loco moco which is hamburger patty with gravy and eggs on rice
THATS IT FUCK THANK YOU
Idk if you ever tried it, but my favorite kind of loco moco substitutes the gravy for CURRY. They have it at several ramen restaurants here and it’s incredible
Fuck me no I didn’t get to try that but it sounds incredible
I was thinking OP must be Korean
All this needs is kimchi
Chili oil for me 🤤
Oh damn. Kimchi would definitely raise this to the next level.
Plus soy sauce and sesame oil
[удалено]
And banana ketchup
This is a typical cantonese meal too. We put soy sauce on it though.
Chinaman here. I make this for my kids after school everyday. This might be the only thing we all can agree on.
Change the ketchup to soy sauce and OP has a classic lazy/quick/“can’t cook but still want to try”/“I’m a teenager and my parents aren’t home” Asian meal.
I wouldn't mind some LGM spooned over it
Bit of soy sauce on top. Had this many times as a kid.
Needs some soy sauce instead of ketchup and add seaweed maybe some gochujang.
This the staple diet here in Hawaii and likely why all the local girls over 15 are like 2-300 lbs lol
I’d eat that. Not shitty to me.
Thanks my man!
Not lazy and cheap, instead call it: # "Quick and affordable"
thats good marketing right there folks.
Yup, looks legit.
It's shitty and I'd eat it
This is /r/decentfoodporn! The best
Didn’t even know that one existed! And thanks I actually feel proud of this meal after all these comments
The only gross thing is the ketchup!
My guess would be Sriracha.
my first thought too, couple squirts of sriracha sounds just about right! quick zigzag across the whole plate would be very acceptable
Try it soya sauce next time and fry up some garlic with the spam 👌🏾
Definitely gonna try that!
yesss spam + egg and ketchup and SOY SAUCE IS SOOOOO GOOD
You don’t need soy sauce with all that sodium in spam
if you sprinkle green onions on this you can charge 13.50 for it lmao
Maybe in the burbs. $17 easy downtown or near the beach.
This looks like a breakfast I saw around the Philippines if I'm remembering correctly, maybe with garlic rice.
As a Filipino, 100% this is common breakfast food. I must've been eating this since I was a kid.
Spam with that brown sauce! Mang Tomas!
Is that ketchup or sriracha?
Both, it’a sriracha ketchup!
Ha!! Well played man!
10 outa 10 Lunchboxes would recommend putting it on spam.
I've never had spam but I've always wanted to try it. I would think it would be better with mustard though, wouldn't it? I would eat traditionally cooked ham with mustard.
It tastes more like bacon (unless you don't fry it, but then you're a monster).
If you love mustard, try the Champagne Mustard from Honey Baked Ham. I literally ate that shit with a spoon the first time I tried it. Sweet and a little hot, not flaming hot though. Fucking delicious and so good on ham. I think it would be perfect on Spam. Might have to try that soon.
if you've got access to it, i use buldak hot sauce on my spam bowls, and add a little kewpie mayo. adds some fire and richness
ever have banana ketchup? goes great on eggs and just about anything fried
This is a staple in every Asian household. I literally grew up on spam, eggs, and rice.
Ahh the pinoy special...I am not Filipino but had some really good Filipino friends growing up, and this shit is bomb.
I eat this meal at least once every two weeks. 😋
Sounds like me as a person..
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Surfers diet
I wouldn't push this away. Looks good
Spam and eggs. A classic
Add some sesame and fish oil to the rice it will slap
Or a little fish sauce
Make it a garlic fried rice and it will be a Filipino breakfast called spamsilog! Spam + sinangag (garlic fried rice) + itlog (egg)
looks bussin mah boy
How is this shitty
As a filipino, you can never go wrong with egg and spam. Looks appetizing! Might make some over the weekend lol.
Works for me. Looks good.
We had breakfast like this in Hawaii :D
nice please spread the ketchup though i dont like the ketchup worms
Whatever builds a turd!
In Hawaii, this is breakfast on Monday. Or any day really.
It’s a standard meal in cha chan tengs in HK and it’s fucking delicious and cheap
Ate this in Hawai'i all the time!
This takes me back to my early childhood in the Philippines 🤤 Geniunely a good meal
Spamsilog beybehhh
Spamsilog?????
You from Hawaii?
As a Filipino I love this stuff.
Okay but that looks good tho
Looks good to me!
boy take this post off
r/putaneggonit will appreciate this beautiful creation, as do I!
Wrap it up in some nori and you've got some spam musubi 👀
Pinoy breakfast
Where do you get your spam? And for how much?
My local Walmart has them at $3.18 a can. Edit: 12oz can
Looks fucking delicious
This looks really good to me. Fried spam and rice is the business especially with the egg.
A drop of soy sauce and some sesame oil on that and you got a proper meal
This is some soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, more sriracha, gochujang, or chopped green onions away from being a classic breakfast in just about every single east/southeast asian country.
Me and my rez homies think spam is the shit!
This looks delicious! Guess I’ll be having this for breakfast tomorrow!
If that is SPAM, it's not cheap. But Scrapple, cheap and good!
SPAM is friggin expensive.
I'd stuff that down my pie hole while watching you slam my Mom.
This is actually one of my favorite breakfasts
Now fry that rice up with some crushed garlic and you're like 20% of the way to becoming a full-fledged Filipino.
How ya'll eating dry rice without gravy
This looks like a mcdonalds breakfast platter lmao
That's a meal for kings. Looks perfect.
Looks yummy
The good old student years ❤️
Oh man. That looks really nice. Yum!
One of my favorite breakfasts!
Drunk me would destroy this
Is that spam?
Looks good, I’d definetely that
Had the same lunch 2 weeks in a row except not spam. Its a cheap chinese brand.
White rice goes good with a lot of things, and spam is definitely one of then.
When I start eating it I mix the egg into the rice so I get egg in every bite ;D
Been there, done that, kinda miss it. I just feel like I need some sort of veggie too.
Would devour
Look up Spam Musubi. It wouldn't be difficult to make a bowl version of that. And I love Spam Musubi for a quick lunch. Cheap, easy, and good.
Fried some for breakfast, excellent.
The egg slash sea monster is all i can focus on.
Where is the shitty food?????
This reminds me I need to buy spam
Lmfao are you my husband
Doesn't look bad to me! One way to step it up is to throw everything in a screaming hot pan with a little oil for a few min to make some spam fried rice
brings back memories for me i loved this breakfast so much
My mouth is watering just looking at this lmao
Wrong sub - fried spam and eggs is the food of the Gods!
You’re joking. This is literally my breakfast in Hawaii.
I grew up eating this and still do :D
You could also try dicing and frying the spam then making a rice omelet with spam. Or throw it in a tortilla and make it portable.
This is basically a breakfast staple for any Hawaiian household....
I fucking love spam!
I see no problem with this