Spam Fried Rice (Seriously good)

By Raybird. 
Servings: 3. Non Vegetarian 

All Spam is luncheon meat, but not all luncheon meat is Spam. While Spam is an American brand that has become synonymous with luncheon meat, our Tulip Luncheon Meat from Denmark has been made with Danish pork and spices for decades. While a deli classic in salads and sandwiches, luncheon meat is extremely popular in Asian cuisine, and this fried rice recipe is a great example why. Serve it on its own with some hot sauce, and a fried egg on top to take it to the next level. 

Notes on fried rice: Making good fried rice at home is hard because you probably don't have a giant wok and a crazy powerful gas stove/flamethrower which are typically used to fry rice quickly before it gets overcooked and mushy. Thus, we have broken up this recipe into two parts. First cooking the mix-ins (veggies and spam) and keeping them aside, then heating the pan and oil until its smoking hot, frying the rice in two smaller batches on high heat, and only at the end mixing the cooked mix-ins into the toasty golden-brown rice. Also, do not substitute the Jasmine rice with any other rice, it is key to an amazing fried rice!

Ingredients

Jasmine Rice, preferably cooked the day before 1 cup raw (3 cups cooked)
Tulip Pork Luncheon Meat/Spam 1 can (340 gm)
Onion, medium dice 4 pc
Scallions/Spring Onions, slice 4 stalks
Garlic, sliced 6 cloves
Green Chilli, chopped 1 pc
Veg Oil 4 tbsp
Fish Sauce 2 tsp
Sesame Oil 2 tsp
Eggs 3 pc
Salt To taste
Black Pepper, freshly ground To taste
Coriander, chopped To garnish
Sriracha To garnish

Method

  1. Wash and drain the rice until the water runs clear. Let it soak in water for 30 minutes. Boil the rice in water seasoned with 2 tsp salt. Cook it until it's 80% done but not fully done, as it will be cooked again. Remove some grains and taste them to check it.
  2. Drain the rice and spread it on a metal tray. Keep it under a fan to cool and dry fast. If using the rice the next day, which we recommend, store it in a container and keep it in the refrigerator. If using the same day, let it cool and dry out under the fan for at least 30 minutes.
  3. When you're ready to make the fried rice, or while your rice is cooling, start preparing all the vegetables. Chop the onions into a medium dice, slice the garlic, scallions and green chilli. Keep aside.
  4. Open your can of Tulip luncheon meat/Spam and chop into cubes. We like them large so they have a chunky bite. 
  5. Heat a pan with oil and sauté the spam cubes until browned. Add all the veggies (Keep some spring onions aside for garnish). Season with some salt & black pepper, and cook until the veggies are soft. Remove the spam/veggie mixture into another container. 
  6. Add oil to the pan and heat it until the pan is literally smoking hot before adding half the rice (1.5 cups cooked). If it is not hot enough the rice will get overcooked and mushy instead of golden brown and fried. We recommend cooking half the rice at a time as it will not fry properly if you try to cook all at once and your pan is not big enough or hot enough. The goal is to cook it at the maximum temperature for the least amount of time - if you cook it too long it will become mushy. Give it an occasional mix, but do not keep mixing it. Let the rice stick to the bottom of the pan a little and then scrape it and mix it, so it gets nicely fried.
  7. Once the rice starts turning brown and toasty, about 2-3 minutes, add half the spam/veggie mixture, season with salt, black pepper, 1 tsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil. The rice will need more salt than you think, mix it well and taste it to check the seasoning.
  8. Remove the fried rice into your serving bowl and repeat with the remaining half of rice and spam/veggie mixture. Don't forget to season!
  9. Last, add some oil to the pan and fry the eggs for serving with the rice. Don't forget to season your eggs with a pinch of salt and fresh black pepper.
  10. Garnish with chopped coriander, spring onions and your favourite chilli sauce. Enjoy!