I Heart Spam

Spam. It gets a bad rap and I admit it is kind of a suspicious meat. It's one of those combo meats and is a dodgy shade of pink. And yes, the ingredients sound suspect: pork with ham mechanically separated, and chicken is also listed as an ingredient. Putting all this aside, trust me, it's amazingly delicious. 

For some reason, asians are huge fans of Spam. Chungs were no different. I grew up eating Spam in Korean Sushi Rolls (as previously posted here) and actually right out of the can with a bowl of rice. I was ignorant to its bad rap until I told some kids in fifth grade that I ate it all the time. These kids stared at me like I was an alien and told me Spam was gross and disgusting. Like any young, impressionable kid, I believed these classmates and soon thought Spam was gross. Then boom! Spam was no longer present in the Chung household for over a decade. 


Spam resurfaced a couple years ago, actually at the request of ME! Dad Chung and Grandma forgot how AWESOME it is and now it's a regular in the Chung kitchen. 


I bought a can of Spam over a month ago at the asian market. I finally cracked open the can last week and thoroughly enjoyed my Spam meals. FOUR in total (That Spam can can stretch far when cooking for one). 


Spam Meal No. 1: Kimchi and Spam Fried Rice. Spam was a nice addition to my kimchi fried rice since I happened to buy a jar of pretty bland kimchi. The Spam added a nice saltiness which added extra tastiness to this dish! 

How to make, you ask? 

Step 1. Fry up diced Spam in frying pan until lightly browned.

Step 2. Add in cooked rice.

Step 3. Add chopped kimchi (if you wanna prevent a stinky cutting board, put kimchi directly into pan and use kitchen shears to chop while in pan).

Step 4. Season with kimchi juice and soy sauce.

Step 5. Garnish with green onions and can add fried egg too. 

Step 6. Enjoy!

Spam Meal No. 2: Fried Spam with Kimchi and Rice. I always enjoyed it when my grandma would fry up Spam for dinner and I'd simply eat it with some kimchi. Add some salted seaweed and fried tofu and yum, you've got a great meal!

Spam Meal No. 3: Kraft Mac and Cheese with Spam. Ok, I probably lost some credibility with some of you. But I have a soft spot for Kraft Mac and Cheese. It's one of those comfort foods that I'll always love. I've never had it with Spam before but the back of my Spam can recommended I try adding Spam to a boring bowl of Mac and Cheese. It was tasty but it was almost too overpowering. I still wanted to taste my Kraft dinner. 

Spam Meal No. 4: Breakfast Burrito with Spam. I love making lil breakfast burritos for myself all the time. I usually add a scrambled egg, grated potatoes, bacon, avocado and green onion all in a tortilla. This is no ginormous Chipotle burrito but a cute lil snacky in the morning. This morning, I added Spam and didn't add bacon (that'd be too much meat). 

Did you know that there are TWELVE varieties of Spam? I'm pretty mortified by Spam Spread. 

But in all seriousness, Spam is just as great as bacon: salty, tasty and flavorful. I can't wait to add Spam to other dishes: Spam and Cheddar Scones, Spam and Pineapple Pizza, Split Pea and Spam Soup. Hey, a girl can dream.