Leftover Canned Spam Is The Key To Easily Bulking Up Fried Rice

Spam, the popular tinned pork product, can be eaten straight out of the can, but there are also many ways to incorporate it into other recipes. That route is preferable for those who can't stomach a bite of canned meat on its own or a foodie who has leftovers that need to be eaten soon. One of the best ways to use leftover canned Spam is to throw it into your homemade fried rice to bulk up the dish.

The ingredient will add a similar meaty flavor and chewy texture as the small pieces of pork that often make it into traditional fried rice recipes. In addition to the meaty flavor, it'll add a dose of protein to the rice to make the dish more fulfilling, although it's worth noting that Spam does contain a lot of sodium and fats. The shelf-stable ingredient might always be in the back of your pantry, so it's an easy addition to a last-minute dinner. Spam makes many different flavors, so you can use a variety like Teriyaki or jalapeño to match the flavors of the other ingredients in your fried rice.

There are a handful of hacks for canned spam, like rinsing off excess salt or throwing it in the air fryer to make it crispy. You can use those hacks or not, but there's still some prep work involved to make Spam fried rice. The first step is to dice the meat into bite-sized pieces to match the sizes of the vegetables and other ingredients in the fried rice. Spam is already cooked, but you should cook it again in the pan to give it a nice caramelization and enhance its flavors. Depending on the recipe, you can cook the Spam separately or along with the veggies in the same pan.

Fried rice is one of those dishes that can be customized with whatever is already in the fridge. However, an ideal way to use it is in Hawaiian-style fried rice because the canned meat is popular in the state. Combine the Spam and rice with pineapple chunks for fruity sweetness plus bell peppers, sesame seeds, scallions, and soy sauce. Prefer to follow an exact recipe? Cook Tasting Table's easy fried rice and add the Spam in with the vegetables. Or consider our chicken fried rice recipe and simply swap the chicken with diced Spam.