When I was growing up we never had meat from a can. Fish and seafood? Yes, but never meat. No canned chicken or little sausages floating in their own juice. And definitely NO SPAM. I had no idea what Spam even was or tasted like. All I knew was that is was formed meat in a can. And we just didn't do that at our house. Apparently, it is gross (according to my parents). So, I grew up learning to turn my nose at such things as canned meat.
In 2007, Adam and I went on a trip to Hawaii with his family. Now, if you don't know, Spam is a pretty big thing in Hawaii. I won't give you a history lesson here or anything. Besides, if you want to know all about it, you really should just go to Hawaii. On a learning expedition. It will totally broaden your horizon. And of course the sun, surf, and Mai Tais won't hurt either.
Anyways, while we were in Hawaii we ate a few breakfasts out. About the second day, Adam decided he was going to go outside the box and order something with fried Spam. Can you guess my reaction?? Looking at him with a disgusted face, saying "You're really going to get that??". Well, once the dish arrived, I still wasn't convinced. I tried a small bite. Hmmm, fine. Adam wins this one because it wasn't half bad. Later in the trip, Adam once again delved outside his food box and ordered a breakfast called "Loco Moco", which is a hamburger patty sitting atop a bed of rice, smothered in brown gravy, topped with a fried egg. That wasn't half bad either, but I would still order macadamia nut pancakes in Hawaii any day.
Since that trip I've made fried Spam a few times, but it has definitely been awhile. Ok, like 3 years. So, when I saw that Spam was celebrating their 75th birthday this year, I thought "I should make some!". And then I thought about Adam's Loco Moco. Then?? I mentally married the two dishes. And I married them again in real life. And it was beautiful. Now, I'm sure I'm not the first person to have accomplished this, but I didn't have a recipe to follow, just my inspiration from that trip 5 long years ago. But I feel pretty savvy and genius for doing this, so I'm going with that :)
Oh, and happy 75th, Spam!
Spam Loco Moco
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp cold water
2 Tbsp butter
1 can Spam, sliced into 8 even slices
4 eggs
Cook rice according to package directions.
In a medium sauce pan, add beef broth and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes to reduce the amount of broth. Add in garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Boil for another 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and cold water until there are no lumps. Whisk cornstarch mixture to beef broth. Cook over medium for another 5 minutes or until gravy has reached desired thickness. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add in sliced Spam and cook until browned on each side (approximately 5 minutes per side). Remove from pan. In the same skillet, fry eggs (traditionally in Loco Moco eggs are served sunny side up, but feel free to cook them how you'll eat them). On each plate, place a scoop of rice topped with Spam, gravy and the fried egg.
Source: Inspired by the Treehouse Cafe (in Honolulu) and the Beach Club Restaurant and Bar at the Aston Ka'anapali Shores (in Lahaina)
In 2007, Adam and I went on a trip to Hawaii with his family. Now, if you don't know, Spam is a pretty big thing in Hawaii. I won't give you a history lesson here or anything. Besides, if you want to know all about it, you really should just go to Hawaii. On a learning expedition. It will totally broaden your horizon. And of course the sun, surf, and Mai Tais won't hurt either.
Anyways, while we were in Hawaii we ate a few breakfasts out. About the second day, Adam decided he was going to go outside the box and order something with fried Spam. Can you guess my reaction?? Looking at him with a disgusted face, saying "You're really going to get that??". Well, once the dish arrived, I still wasn't convinced. I tried a small bite. Hmmm, fine. Adam wins this one because it wasn't half bad. Later in the trip, Adam once again delved outside his food box and ordered a breakfast called "Loco Moco", which is a hamburger patty sitting atop a bed of rice, smothered in brown gravy, topped with a fried egg. That wasn't half bad either, but I would still order macadamia nut pancakes in Hawaii any day.
Since that trip I've made fried Spam a few times, but it has definitely been awhile. Ok, like 3 years. So, when I saw that Spam was celebrating their 75th birthday this year, I thought "I should make some!". And then I thought about Adam's Loco Moco. Then?? I mentally married the two dishes. And I married them again in real life. And it was beautiful. Now, I'm sure I'm not the first person to have accomplished this, but I didn't have a recipe to follow, just my inspiration from that trip 5 long years ago. But I feel pretty savvy and genius for doing this, so I'm going with that :)
Oh, and happy 75th, Spam!
Spam Loco Moco
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp cold water
2 Tbsp butter
1 can Spam, sliced into 8 even slices
4 eggs
Cook rice according to package directions.
In a medium sauce pan, add beef broth and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes to reduce the amount of broth. Add in garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Boil for another 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and cold water until there are no lumps. Whisk cornstarch mixture to beef broth. Cook over medium for another 5 minutes or until gravy has reached desired thickness. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add in sliced Spam and cook until browned on each side (approximately 5 minutes per side). Remove from pan. In the same skillet, fry eggs (traditionally in Loco Moco eggs are served sunny side up, but feel free to cook them how you'll eat them). On each plate, place a scoop of rice topped with Spam, gravy and the fried egg.
Source: Inspired by the Treehouse Cafe (in Honolulu) and the Beach Club Restaurant and Bar at the Aston Ka'anapali Shores (in Lahaina)
When we would go camping we would fry up Spam, potatoes and eggs for breakfast. It was pretty good.
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