I have talked about my growing obsession with spam in recent months. I was looking for recipes to use it in, and found suggestions for Spam Mac and Cheese – of course! That sounded awesome! But the first recipe I tried didn’t turn out great. It was probably due to the fact that I used shredded Mexican cheese blend (because that’s what I had on hand) to make the cheese sauce, and not the idea of a mornay type sauce itself, that caused it to fail. But I was turned off to that method.
Then I made that really delicious Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch Macaroni and Cheese with Velveeta and realized this was the way to go. Of course weird processed cheese product would go well with weird processed meat product (don’t judge me)!
I was right! It came out creamy and salty and just awesome in general. Again – I wouldn’t recommend making this a weekly thing, but as an occasional treat, it’s delicious. (more…)
I had always thought that spam was super gross and never had any interest. But as I became more aware of the different cuisines of the world, I noticed that there were a few that really (REALLY) love spam. So when I saw spam musubi on the menu at my favorite local cafe, Megabytes, I decided to try it. You guys – spam is delicious! It’s like ham plus bacon plus sausage all in one. I’m kind of obsessed now, like bought-a-case-at-Costco obsessed. No, processed meat is not good for you; but as a special treat in the place of bacon or sausage, it’s not going to kill you (probably). Especially if you buy the low sodium kind, which I prefer.
Anyway, pressing musubi seems like a lot of work, and I am more of a freeform girl; so I decided to make a rice bowl for my first spam experiment. I cooked short grain rice and topped it with furikake seasoning, then seared spam, fried eggs, seaweed, scallions, and toasted sesame seeds. It. Was. Awesome. I wasn’t sure that Jasper would be into it, but he loved it, too, and wants me to make it all the time!
Spam and Rice Bowl
serves 2-4
1 1/2 cups dry short grain rice (I use Botan)
2 cups water
1/4 cup furikake seasoning (check your labels, not all furikake is gluten free)
1 can low sodium spam, sliced into 8 slices
4 eggs
salt and pepper
toasted nori
scallion greens, sliced
toasted sesame seeds
Combine the rice and water and cook according to directions, usually simmer covered for 20 minutes, then let stand for 10 (I use a rice cooker). Fluff with a fork and add the furikake seasoning, you can start with less and more to taste, if you wish. Set aside.
Meanwhile, sear the sliced spam on each side in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. You won’t need any extra fat, and you may have to work in batches. Set aside.
Pour out most of the fat from the pan, then return to medium heat and fry the eggs you your liking. I prefer sunny side up. Season the eggs with salt and pepper.
To assemble divide the rice among the desired number of bowls, top with the spam, then the eggs. Sprinkle nori, scallions, and sesame over the top. Enjoy!
