Spam anyone?
You know growing up 'poor' as my family and I did, I never had Spam.
I've been to Hawaiian restaurants and seen it on the menu and been interested but never enough to actually try it.
Last night, my boyfriend (the cook) decided to make for dinner, a dish he said his mother used to make when they were a family of six growing up poor, (which from my standards was more middle-income).
The dish included a can of mixed vegetables, potatoes and cubed pieces of spam in some sort of thick tomato sauce.
It looked weird and Spam sounded weird to me. And of course since he doesn't like to reveal his secret ingredients I just had my eyes and nose to tell me what this dish could possibly taste like.
He insisted I try it and to be honest he doesn't usually steer me wrong when it comes to food. (He knows better.)
So I tried it, with flour tortillas he insisted, and it was good. Yes, the Spam-vegetable-tomato-sauce concoction was pretty tasty.
Everything was pretty tender and flavorful and the Spam was not weird at all. It was like cubed ham, which is what Spam basically is right? Spiced ham.
I scooped up the remaining sauce with my tortilla and there was even some leftovers for lunch - Yum!
I don't know what I was worried about. It brings to mind a Save Ferris song I used to love listening and singing along to, but never took advice from:
SPAM:
(Chorus intro)
Now when I was a child
My family was so poor
They didn't have the finer things in life to eat
So we had a plan
In a big blue can
The government substitute for meat
[Chorus]:
Spam
It's pink and it's oval
Spam
I buy it at the Mobil
Spam
It's made in Chernobyl
Spam
To get me to eat it at dinner
They said I'd grow up like Bruce Jenner
He was a winner that never knew defeat
And when he got hungry
When he got hungry
He cracked open that special treat
It was
(Repeat Chorus)
S-P-A-M
Don't you know it's my best friend
S-P-A-M
Again and again and again
S-P-A-M
Don't you know it's my best friend
S-P-A-M
Again and again and again and again
So go and forget your O-S-C-A-R
Cuz there's one meat by-product that's best by far
It's
(Repeat Chorus)
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So, what's your favorite Spam meal?
1. spam drizzled with brown sugar then fried. it's like a poor man's version of honey-baked ham. Eat it with white rice.
2. spam musubi (spam and rice wrapped in seaweed, hawaiian)
3. spam saimin (noodle soup with spam, hawaiian)
They need come out with a turkey version of SPAM.
You're sick
spam musubi!
Spam tacos! (Curiously, I've never seen it on the menu of a taco shop, although I'm sure we weren't the only poor Mexican family who eats them.)
Back when I ate land animals, I liked grilled Spam with sunny-side-up eggs and I'd dip the Spam in the yolk. It's pretty simple.
They already have a turkey version of Spam. Unfortunately, it tastes like salted turkey and not Spam, so it's no substitute for the real thing.
Spam with egg and rice is a breakfast favorite.
I love spam. I just watched No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain and he visited Hawaii. He tried some of the spam musubi, it looked great.