SPAM Fans?

SecondAttempt said:
You really need a mold to make proper spam musubi. They are cheap on Amazon. And use sushi rice not long grain!
Click to expand...

You can get the molds at Daiso too. Spam Musubi is a staple at all the potlucks we go to.
My dh's family is from HI and calls spam Hawaiian Steak :LOL:
 
Have fond memories of SPAM from my camping days. Really good when fried in bacon fat! Had a private tour of the factory in Austin MN about 10 years ago and a nice meal at the SPAM museum afterwards. https://www.spam.com/museum

I recall that the meaning of the SPAM acronym was lost to history, but they were thinking it was probably Special Pork and Meat. Interestingly, huge amount of SPAM is exported, especially to The Philippines which became accustomed to it after WW2. Many flavors available today… I’m starting to salivate….
 
I think the first time I ever had Spam was in Hawaii when I was in my 30's. My kids love it and we have it occasionally in musubi, fried rice or with eggs and rice.

We usually go with the lower sodium version but it's still a bit too salty for me unless there is enough rice to help temper the salt.
 
This thread inspired me to take the leap so I bought a can of the low sodium, to be honest it sounds kind of high but lower than the regular. Got a can of sliced pineapple and some burger rolls. I have the BBQ sauce in the fridge. Not sure when I'll try it but probably within a week.
 
braumeister said:
...
I even visited the Spam Museum in Austin, MN a number of years ago; worth a stop if you're in the area.
Click to expand...
...

Several years ago our car club did a trip to that area, including one "surprise destination". The surprise turned out to be the Spam museum. Lots of moaning and groaning and people talking about leaving the group when the surprise was announced. But we all went anyway, and nearly every car had a case of Spam in the trunk when we left. More flavors than I ever expected, and the museum is actually rather interesting.

As mentioned, you can't eat just 2 oz.
I like fried Spam but my wife hates it in any form.
 
Slice about 3/8" thick, coat with brown sugar and fry it. Put it on toast with American cheese and ketchup. One of my favorites.
 
Strangely, yesterday one of Costco's samples was ... Spam! On something like foam white bread. Yes, I ate it. Hadn't had it for decades. One bite was enough, won't be buying more. Yesterday must have been Sausage Sample Day at my Costco, as I also had a couple of other offerings.
 
Well My SPAM canning experiment is complete. I now have a case of homemade SPAM. A pint jar holds about 14 ounces, Ran out of jars, so stuffed another 2 lbs into large sausage casing and tossed on the smoker.
Also made 10 lbs regular breakfast sausage split between Maple and spicy.
 
I loved it as a kid. At Costco, theywere sampling the low sodium stuff in King’s Hawaiian rolls, and I swear—Chef’s kiss!
 
Last edited:
Pellice said:
Strangely, yesterday one of Costco's samples was ... Spam! On something like foam white bread. Yes, I ate it. Hadn't had it for decades. One bite was enough, won't be buying more. Yesterday must have been Sausage Sample Day at my Costco, as I also had a couple of other offerings.
Click to expand...

We must go to the same Costco! Did you try the truffle hot sauce? I’ve been sucked in creamer style two more than my share of Costco items, but I may have to go back and get some of that stuff.
 
I have a can of Spam a few times a year - I slice each can into 8 slices which is 4 meals. Fry until crispy in a skillet and eat with mustard on regular bread. It's a guilty pleasure from my childhood...I eat the low fat version but I'm not overly concerned given the frequency.
 
Koolau said:
This site (link deleted) claims there are 22 varieties of SPAM. Some click bait, so open at your own discretion. I was actually thinking there were more than 22 varieties - it seems like it, but times, tastes and flavors change. We'll call it progress, I guess, though YMMV.
Click to expand...

Most of the things I've read suggest sticking with original or the 25% less sodium version and adding your own flavors. The reduced-fat versions are mixes of delicious pork and less delicious poultry.

I've started making a batch of Spam Musubi every week for work lunches. This week I went with 10 thin Spam slices and made a 5 egg omelet so my musubi are: Spam, rice, egg, rice, Spam. Seasoned with Bachan's Japanese BBQ sauce and a couple types of furikake.

Seems like I have a Monty Python skit going.
 
Jimonlimon said:
I've started making a batch of Spam Musubi every week for work lunches. This week I went with 10 thin Spam slices and made a 5 egg omelet so my musubi are: Spam, rice, egg, rice, Spam. Seasoned with Bachan's Japanese BBQ sauce and a couple types of furikake.
Click to expand...

Sounds great!
The furikake is the key ingredient IMHO and I apply it generously (also using two types).
 
braumeister said:
Sounds great!
The furikake is the key ingredient IMHO and I apply it generously (also using two types).
Click to expand...

I have discovered so many new tastes since moving to Hawaii about 10 years ago, mostly Asian, and mostly readily available in the mainland but somehow never crossed my radar:

furikake
bonito flakes/dashi
patis (fish sauce, patis is the filipino name but every culture has one.)
'inamona (finely chopped kukui nuts)
poi (yes, I like what I formerly described as library paste)
vana (sea urchin plucked from the ocean, tossed in a basket to remove spines and eaten raw. Yes, my Hawaiian partner thinks this is gross too! But also $20 served in a shot glass as a shooter at restaurants!)
limu (seaweed)
nori as a snack (nori are the kelp wrappers used for musubi and sushi)
natto (fermented soybeans. I'm iffy on this but very healthy)
mochi
onigiri (similar to musubi but triangular and generally not made with spam)
kimchee
kamaboko (this is the white/pink thing you see slices of in some Japanese soups on the mainland but oh so versatile)
li hing mui powder
arare

And my coworkers bring all sorts of tasties to work after Asian holidays!

I really want to try opihi but it is extremely hard to find! Opihi are those cone-shaped limpet molluscs that live in many areas. They are a delicasy in Hawaii and are eaten raw like oysters. My partner liked them as a kid but thinks they are disgusting now.

I've also learned that fried rice is not a dinner dish you plan. It is what you make for breakfast to use up the rice and other stuff left over from dinner. Anytime there is an event at work we have a big fried rice feast the next morning!

I have developed a particular fascination with fish sauce and its history. Both Worchestershire sauce and ketchup are evolved from fish sauce. Every Asian culture has their own but most are very similar. The Romans made "garum" which was prized by region like fine wine. Recipes for Roman garum are lost to history but are believed to be more like Asian fish sauces.
 
SecondAttempt said:
I have discovered so many new tastes since moving to Hawaii about 10 years ago, mostly Asian, and mostly readily available in the mainland but somehow never crossed my radar:

furikake
bonito flakes/dashi
patis (fish sauce, patis is the filipino name but every culture has one.)
'inamona (finely chopped kukui nuts)
poi (yes, I like what I formerly described as library paste)
vana (sea urchin plucked from the ocean, tossed in a basket to remove spines and eaten raw. Yes, my Hawaiian partner thinks this is gross too! But also $20 served in a shot glass as a shooter at restaurants!)
limu (seaweed)
nori as a snack (nori are the kelp wrappers used for musubi and sushi)
natto (fermented soybeans. I'm iffy on this but very healthy)
mochi
onigiri (similar to musubi but triangular and generally not made with spam)
kimchee
kamaboko (this is the white/pink thing you see slices of in some Japanese soups on the mainland but oh so versatile)
li hing mui powder
arare

And my coworkers bring all sorts of tasties to work after Asian holidays!

I really want to try opihi but it is extremely hard to find! Opihi are those cone-shaped limpet molluscs that live in many areas. They are a delicasy in Hawaii and are eaten raw like oysters. My partner liked them as a kid but thinks they are disgusting now.

I've also learned that fried rice is not a dinner dish you plan. It is what you make for breakfast to use up the rice and other stuff left over from dinner. Anytime there is an event at work we have a big fried rice feast the next morning!

I have developed a particular fascination with fish sauce and its history. Both Worchestershire sauce and ketchup are evolved from fish sauce. Every Asian culture has their own but most are very similar. The Romans made "garum" which was prized by region like fine wine. Recipes for Roman garum are lost to history but are believed to be more like Asian fish sauces.
Click to expand...

In the Island for 15 years but still haven't knowingly tried all of your list. Of course, we've probably had most of it at family and church luaus, but just didn't know what it was. I like virtually everything food related in the Islands. It would help to have partner who is familiar with all the various spices and cooking techniques. But we're just about as haole as they come, so we just try everything and enjoy. When we bring a midwestern dish to a luau, it always disappears, so I guess food is a universal language.

Regarding poi, I have just never been able to enjoy it though I've tried many times.

Regarding opihi, I've never tried. They are difficult to find commercially as the laws regarding their harvesting are strict, varied and come with signifiant penalties for poaching or improper limits, etc. Maybe some day.

I have tried all kinds of SPAM dishes and it's all in the preparation. Some I like - some not so much. SPAM by itself isn't a personal favorite but local folks we know can make SPAM quite tasty in dishes we don't always know. YMMV
 
I have several vintage cookbooks that can be entertaining to browse. This is from a 1961 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook:


1/4 c chopped onion
1T butter
2 one pound cans pork and beans
1/4 c catsup
1T prepared mustard


Saute onion in butter. Add pork and beans, catsup and mustard and heat to boiling. Pour into a rectangular casserole pan.



1 can Spam
3 canned pineapple rings, halved and 1T syrup from can
1/4 c brown sugar
1T prepared mustard


Slice Spam into 12 slices and arrange in two rows on top of beans along center line of pan, leaving space at each end. Arrange pineapple along center of pan. Mix syrup, brown sugar and mustard and spread over all.


1 can refrigerated biscuits


Place 3 biscuits at each end of pan and bake at 375 degrees 15-20 minutes until biscuits are done.

Enjoy!!
 
Eat a can once a month or so. Hae four cans of it at camp as emergency ration.
 
Koolau said:
In the Island for 15 years but still haven't knowingly tried all of your list. Of course, we've probably had most of it at family and church luaus, but just didn't know what it was. I like virtually everything food related in the Islands. It would help to have partner who is familiar with all the various spices and cooking techniques. But we're just about as haole as they come, so we just try everything and enjoy. When we bring a midwestern dish to a luau, it always disappears, so I guess food is a universal language.

Regarding poi, I have just never been able to enjoy it though I've tried many times.

Regarding opihi, I've never tried. They are difficult to find commercially as the laws regarding their harvesting are strict, varied and come with signifiant penalties for poaching or improper limits, etc. Maybe some day.

I have tried all kinds of SPAM dishes and it's all in the preparation. Some I like - some not so much. SPAM by itself isn't a personal favorite but local folks we know can make SPAM quite tasty in dishes we don't always know. YMMV
Click to expand...

I bet you've had more than you think. If you eat poke, both limu and 'inamona are in Hawaiian style poke.

You can get real onigiri at Lawsons on Kalakaua in Waikiki.

With poi, I have found I like it "sour" as they call it here. That is when it is starting to ferment and get a little funky. Hawaiian partner only likes it fresh.

Oh, another thing I have not tried but want to is super local - chili pepper water.

I had a guy here estimating a job a few years ago. He was a kanaka (native Hawaiian guy), looked around and said "you're living in a Hawaiian village." I asked him how he knew that and he pointed out my old-style mature mango trees, lauhala (for weaving mats and baskets), dry-land taro, and several other plants and said "this was all they needed." I have since found some old stone constructions that I choose to believe are animal pens...because if they turn out to be a heiau (temple) it earns me an archeological lien on my property!
 
I am currently in Maui where there is a Hormel convention at the hotel down the street. Several days ago they had chefs preparing Spam a number of different ways.
 
I come from the birthplace of SPAM...Minnesota. Not something to be proud of, but I do know living in Hawai'i for a bit earlier in my life that the local's there can make just about anything out of SPAM.
 
My partner's stepfather was a very senior government official for the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. I have found numerous testimonies before Congress he made and he was a direct presidential appointee.

She grew up on Saipan but spent quite a bit of time in American Samoa and numerous other remote islands. While they were priviledged and well connected, fresh meat and vegetables were rare so spam was a regular part of meals. I think this was true on many Pacific islands including Hawaii and explains why spam is so popular today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
New York City- Street Hot Dogs
2
Replies
43
Views
3K
NW-Bound
NW-Bound
Red Badger
It's Summer. Defend Your Burger.
2 3
Replies
65
Views
5K
Chuckanut
Chuckanut
R
Food that has a special place in your heart...
Replies
23
Views
2K
Dawg52
Dawg52
timo2
The Shrinking MLB Fan Base
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
frayne
frayne
T
Hi, my 120 day countdown has begun and I COVET your feedback!
Replies
9
Views
3K
Dtail
D

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom