By Taehan Lee | Perlé Pâtisserie & Culinary Studio
A nostalgic comfort dish reborn with modern technique, vegetable flair, and fine‑dining balance.
When food trends circle back, they often bring an unexpected guest. SPAM—the canned pork born of wartime scarcity—has become a darling of street food stalls from Honolulu to Seoul. Its salty richness, caramel‑browning ease, and undeniable nostalgia make it ripe for reinterpretation. My grandparents kept a can in the cupboard “for emergencies.” As a child I sliced it thick, pan‑fried it crisp, and tucked it into rice with soy and fresh spring onion.
Today, I honour that memory while refining the dish for a Perlé brunch plate: jasmine rice left overnight for perfect separate grains; SPAM diced tiny, seared like lardons; rainbow vegetables for colour and crunch; a lightly sweet soy glaze; and a fanned onsen egg that oozes into every crevice. It tastes like Saturday cartoons and chef whites in the same bite.
Ingredients
Main Fry‑Up
- 2 cups cold cooked jasmine rice (day‑old, fridge‑dry)
- 150 g SPAM Classic, 5 mm dice
- 1 small carrot, brunoise
- ½ cup finely diced baby peas (fresh or thawed)
- 2 scallions, white and green separated, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil (rice‑bran or grapeseed)
Seasoning Sauce
- 1 Tbsp low‑sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy for colour
- 2 tsp mirin
- ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
- Pinch white pepper
Garnishes
- 2 soft‑poached or onsen ( 5 mins boiled ) or fried eggs
- Micro‑greens or chive batons
- Crispy shallots or puffed rice pearls
- Optional: shaved toasted Gim (Korean Roasted seaweed)
- Blanched green peas
Method
- Cook the SPAM
Take your SPAM and cut it into small cubes—around 5 mm is ideal so they crisp up fast without drying out. Place a large non-stick or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Without adding oil, drop the cubed SPAM directly into the dry hot pan. Stir gently every 30 seconds for about 3 minutes. As it cooks, the fat will render out and the surfaces will start to caramelise, turning golden-brown and crisp. Once the cubes look crackly on the edges and smell savoury-sweet, they’re ready. - Sauté the veggies
Push the SPAM to one side of the pan and add a tablespoon of neutral oil. Drop in the finely diced carrots and the white part of your scallions (spring onions). Stir them for about a minute—they should look brighter but still hold a little bite. Then add the garlic and stir for just 10 seconds, until fragrant but not browned. Garlic cooks fast, so don’t let it burn. - Add the rice
Now turn the heat to high. Take your cold, day-old jasmine rice straight from the fridge and gently break it up with your hands before adding it to the pan. Drop it in and start pressing and folding the rice into the SPAM and vegetables using a spatula. The idea is to coat every grain with the flavorful fat and help it heat evenly. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the rice is steaming and starting to bounce lightly in the pan—this is how you know it’s hot through. - Season
Add the peas and let them warm through. Then drizzle your soy sauce, dark soy, and mirin mixture around the edges of the hot pan (this helps the sauce sizzle and spread evenly). Quickly toss everything to coat the rice in seasoning. After 30 seconds, turn off the heat and mix in the green part of the scallions and a few drops of sesame oil for aroma. - Plate it up
For a simple home style, spoon the fried rice into a shallow bowl. If you’re plating for guests, you can use a ring mould to pack the rice into a clean cylinder at the center of the plate. Gently place a soft-poached or onsen egg on top. Finish with garnishes like crispy shallots, micro-shiso leaves, or finely shaved nori. Serve immediately—let the runny yolk become the sauce. SPAM behaves like pork belly when diced small: first renders fat, then crisps surface proteins, sending savoury aromas through the wok. Day‑old jasmine rice offers separate, slightly dehydrated grains that rehydrate with sauce. Mirin adds a whisper of sweetness to balance the cured meat’s salt.
High‑heat wok tossing coats every grain in rendered fat without greasiness. Finishing off‑heat with sesame oil preserves its volatile aromatics.
Ingredient Spotlight & Technique
SPAM behaves like pork belly when diced small: first renders fat, then crisps surface proteins, sending savoury aromas through the wok. Day‑old jasmine rice offers separate, slightly dehydrated grains that rehydrate with sauce. Mirin adds a whisper of sweetness to balance the cured meat’s salt.
High‑heat wok tossing coats every grain in rendered fat without greasiness. Finishing off‑heat with sesame oil preserves its volatile aromatics.
Nutrition & Flavor Architecture
Per serving: ≈540 kcal · 19 g protein · 67 g carbs · 19 g fat.
Sequence: crackling SPAM cubes → fluffy rice → sweet veg pop → silky yolk sauce → umami soy echo.
Plating Style
Home Kitchen Bowl – Heap rice free‑form, top with fried egg sunny‑side, let yolk run. Serve with kimchi on the side.
Bistro Skillet – Serve rice in a small cast‑iron pan set atop a wooden board. Nestle onsen egg off‑centre, sprinkle puffed rice pearls, micro‑herbs, and a streak of sweet soy reduction.
Neo‑Bouchon Plate – Compress rice into a tight cylinder on matte charcoal plate. Layer torn SPAM crisps like petals. Quenelle slow‑cooked yolk, dot sesame‑oil emulsion, garnish with Gim dust and pickled radish ribbons for height and acidic snap.
Sustainability Lens
Reimagining shelf‑stable SPAM reduces fresh meat demand and honours wartime resourcefulness. Cold‑rice utilisation prevents food waste. Vegetable off‑cuts (carrot tops, scallion roots) can flavour homemade stock.
FAQ
Lower‑sodium? Use SPAM Lite and rinse briefly under hot water before dicing.
Can I add more veg? Absolutely—diced bell pepper, corn, or shiitake work; keep total volume moderate to preserve rice flavour.
No mirin? Substitute a pinch of brown sugar and a splash of rice vinegar.
Egg alternative? A spoon of silken tofu whipped with soy and lime provides a vegan creamy element.
Closing Thought
Fried rice is memory food—quick, fragrant, endlessly customizable. By gently polishing the edges—perfect dice, balanced sauce, mindful plating—we transform a humble tin of SPAM into a dish that straddles nostalgia and nouvelle cuisine. It’s proof that refinement isn’t about expensive ingredients; it’s about the respect we give to every step of the process.