Spoon & Shutter

From Susan: For some time now, Ted has been fascinated – you might even say obsessed – with SPAM. Not junk email, the pink, ham-esque meat in a can. I had reservations about experimenting with the stuff, thanks to unpleasant memories of a dreadful concoction served by my paternal grandmother (an amazing woman but a terrible cook) called, inexplicably, a “Lockport sandwich” – SPAM, a fried egg and ketchup on white bread. Makes me shiver just thinking about it …

Many believe that the name SPAM is an amalgamation of “spiced ham” (or among other not-so-nice suggestions, Something Posing As Meat) but according to the official website, spam.com, company president Jay Hormel held a contest to name his new product and an actor came up with the winner. What’s in it? Pork shoulder, ham, salt, water, potato starch and sodium nitrite (it’s what keeps SPAM and other pork products, like bacon and hot dogs, pink instead of gray). That’s the classic; SPAM also comes in hickory smoked, cheese bacon, black pepper, garlic, hot & spicy, “lite” and low-sodium varieties.

SPAM was introduced in 1937, and made its biggest impact during World War II, when more than a million cans were shipped abroad to allied troops. Available almost everywhere in the world, it is most popular in Hawaii, which holds the record for SPAM consumption. Ted’s best friend William lives on Maui, home to the annual SPAM Cook-Off (Honolulu has the SPAMARAMA and Waikiki has the SpamJam), and when he sent us Hawaii’s 2^nd SPAM Cookbook for Christmas, we took it as a sign that the time had come to step up – to SPAM.

To start, we decided on the Hawaiian snack known as musubi (moo-sue-bee), a slice of fried SPAM atop a rectangle of rice wrapped with nori – kind of like SPAM sushi. According to cookbook author Ann Kondo Corum, SPAM musubi is Hawaiian comfort food, found at convenience stores and snack stands throughout the 50^th state. There are umpteen versions; we liked the slight variation on the classic, which includes a teriyaki-like sauce.

SPAM Musubi

Sato-Shoyu SPAM Musubi

Makes 8 pieces

Slice SPAM into 8 pieces, lengthwise.

Cook rice. The cookbook says that an average musubi will take about 1 cup of cooked rice, but this seemed like a lot to us. I would make about 2 cups of cooked rice for the whole can of SPAM. Sprinkle the hot rice with a little rice wine vinegar and toss to combine. Let cool to room temperature.

Mix ¼ cup each soy sauce and sugar; add a little water and whisk until sugar is dissolved.

Place the SPAM slices in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the sauce and cook until SPAM is heated through and caramelized with the sauce. Remove the slices to a plate.

Shape the rice using a sushi press or by hand into rectangles about 1 inch high and the width and length of the SPAM slices. Place a slice of SPAM on top of each rice rectangle and wrap with a strip of nori. Some recipes call for a larger piece of nori, but we like the way it looks with just a strip.

On now, to two recipes you could use to serve SPAM to guests and no one would know. But it would be fun to let them in on the secret after they tell you how delicious these both are. The first one, given the unfortunate name of “Power Balls” in the cookbook, is a delicious twist on a favorite suburban party appetizer – cornbread stuffing mix, spinach, Swiss cheese and nuggets of crisply fried SPAM. The second may also be familiar as a riff on the ramen-cabbage slaw so popular in the 1980s.

SPAM-Spinach Balls

SPAM-Spinach Balls (aka Power Balls)

Serves 6 as an appetizer

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ can SPAM, finely chopped

6 tablespoons butter

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 cup cornbread stuffing mix

½ cup grated Swiss cheese

2 eggs

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Saute onion and SPAM in butter until onion is soft and SPAM is just beginning to brown. Add spinach. Combine SPAM-spinach mixture with remaining ingredients in food processor or large bowl.

Shape into 1-inch balls and bake on an ungreased sheet pan in a 350-degree oven until slightly crispy outside and heated through (15-20 minutes).

Serve with sauce made of ½ cup mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon horseradish.

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Ramen-SPAM Salad

Ramen-SPAM Salad

Serves 6

1 small head cabbage, finely shredded

2 stalks green onion, chopped

2 carrots, shredded

½ cup sliced radishes

1 can SPAM, sliced and fried until crisp on the edges

1 (3-ounce) packaged ramen (Oriental flavor)

1 cup unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Chopped cilantro (the recipe says optional, but as a lover of cilantro I think it’s a must)

Dressing:

½ packet ramen seasoning

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

½ cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Shred and chop all vegetables and place in large bowl. Cut fried SPAM into logs and toss together with vegetables. Mix dressing ingredients in a jar or whisk in a bowl. Crush ramen, using rolling pin or bottom of pan. Add to SPAM-vegetable mixture and toss with dressing. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro.

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And YES we tasted everything we made and surprisingly, liked it all!