Monday, September 02, 2013

Hawaiian Rice Bowl With Spam - Spamtastic fried rice

 
So my coworker had never tasted Spam. I am known in my social circle for my Spam cookery (My Spam Christmas tree is quite a sight to behold), so I felt it was my duty to rectify this situation.
 
Since she was unfamiliar with the salty goodness of Spam, I thought just a hunk of processed porky goodness might be a bit much. That's a bit like having a shot of Absinthe for your first sip of alcohol.
 
So I decided to make a delicious Hawaiian stir-fry starring Hawaii's favorite meat product, Spam.
 
A few years when there was a Tsunami warning in Hawaii and people were stocking up and evacuating to high ground, one of the images that stayed with me was emptied Spam shelves in the supermarket. Save the Spam!
 
You'll notice my hand in the photographs, something you almost never see on this blog. My husband was so excited about the Spam he agreed to play photographer.
 
Here are the ingredients:
 
 
 
Spam, canned pineapple chunks, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, Sriracha, a large container of cold cooked white rice( about four cups), two eggs, enough onion for half a cup of diced onions, a red bell pepper, garlic, ginger and scallions. You'll also need some oil for cooking, I like peanut or canola.
 
Let's begin by dicing some Spam. You'll need about half a can for this dish.
 
Dice it finely into 1 inch pieces, we're looking to get most of the elements the same size for this dish.
 
Now dice the onion.
 
 

 Then the pepper.
 
 Mince 2 to 3 cloves of garlic.


Grate about a tablespoons of ginger. I keep a root in the freezer and grate off what I need.

I
 grated it onto the board here, but often I rate it onto a bit of wax or parchment paper so it's easier to transfer it into a bowl.


You'll also want to dice the scallions. Dice the whites and the greens separately. They'll be used at different cooking stages. Use between 3 and 6 scallions depending on how much you enjoy the flavor. I'd want six, my husband would want much less.

 
Dice the pineapple up a bit. Usually the chunks in the can are quite large. Use about half a large can or a small can.
 
 
Now let's make the sauce. Three tablespoons of soy sauce.


Two tablespoons of toasted sesame oil. It's pricey, but buy it, keep it in the fridge and use it a tablespoon at a time. You'll be amazed at what it can do for your cooking.

 
Add anywhere between a teaspoon and two Tablespoons of Sriracha - this depends on how hot you like things. A tablespoon is a good compromise. I used a teaspoon here.


 
Stir them together and set aside. You won't use this until the very end.


Crack your two large eggs into a cup or bowl.


Then beat them.


Time to get cooking! Heat about a tablespoon of oil in your pan. Let's go with a large non-stick skillet. Get the oil hot, then add the Spam.



Add the onions, peppers and scallion whites.


Cook over high heat, stirring constantly for about six to eight minutes, until onions and Spam start to brown a bit. Then add the garlic and ginger and stir until you smell the garlic and ginger.



Remove the Spam and veggie mixture to a plate or bowl and put just a bit more oil into your pan. Now add the while rice. Stir it around to break it up and thoroughly heat the rice.



When the rice is heated through, shove it off to one side of the pan and add just a few drops of oil to the empty side of the pan.



Now add the beaten eggs to the empty pan.


The eggs should cook in about thirty to forty seconds.


Stir it into the rice.


Add the Spam veggie mixture back into the pan.


Mix them back in with the rice.

T
hen add the soy sauce mixture and stir it in.


Once that's combined, remove it from the heat and add pineapple.


Then add the scallion greens.


Stir to combine and then serve. Delicious!


T
he verdict - Here's my coworker's Facebook Status:


I told you it was delicious!

Cyn