Did you know that this week is Spam Appreciation Week? I have no idea how these food weeks are allocated but this was one I could get behind. My love of Spam is well documented and I know I’m not the only one! The very kind people at Spam UK got in touch with me through Twitter earlier this week and sent me a few cans as well as an apron and spatula and I’m starting to put those tins into good use.
As I also had a big tub of kimchi gifted to me by Sabrina (thank you!), I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used to serve the most delicious fried rice, all oily and surprisingly tasty despite the few ingredients in it. It was this I had in mind, as well as a kimchi fried rice we had in Pacific Plaza, when I cooked this. While that version of kimchi bokkeumbap had fatty belly pork in it, I chose to use Spam; the tinned luncheon meat is very popular in Korea and its meaty saltiness pairs well with that spicy cuisine. And with kimchi – yum!
This really hit the spot a few nights ago – it’s fast (so long as you have the ingredients in the fridge, including cold cooked rice) and gorgeous and overall, is some serious comfort food. It’s best with older, stronger kimchi but the you could fry younger kimchi for longer to get more flavour. Do you like it spicier? – Add some gochujang or Korean chilli powder. If you don’t like fried eggs with liquid yolks (really?), you could cook the eggs before hand into scrambly bits to stir into the bokkeumbap near the end. Tweak it all you like as it’s quite adaptable; all fried rice is.
Before I share the recipe for kimchi and spam bokkeumbap, I just wanted to share another fried rice variation I learned about recently from Austin Bush’s blog. Khao phat Amerikan is a Thai American fried rice and I wonder if it is available outside Thailand. It’s fried rice with ketchup and raisins (?!) and is served with fried hot dogs, fried chicken and ham on the side. Quite often there are also fried croutons and a fried egg involved. From what I gather, some innovative cook took the elements of an American breakfast (not unlike a British fry up) and turned them into something a little more Thai. I can imagine fried Spam on the side of this too but strangely, I’m not that keen on recreating this at home. Serve me a kimchi and spam bokkeumbap anytime!
Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap
serves 2 regular eaters or 3 on a diet. Hmm.
3 tbsps sunflower oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small carrot, finely diced
200g of your favourite Spam, diced
1 cup chopped kimchi plus whatever kimchi juices you can salvage
cold, cooked rice for two (use Korean or Japanese rice…the slightly sticky short grain kind), about 700mL in volume
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 tsp sesame oil
salt to taste
toasted sesame seeds
2 eggs
gim – Korean toasted seaweed (optional)
Prepare all your ingredients. Chop, dice, slice.
Heat a wok or large pot over medium heat and add the oil. Throw in the onion and carrot and saute under tender – about 5-10 minutes. Add the Spam and continue frying for another 2 minutes. Add the kimchi and continue frying. If you’re kimchi is quite fresh, fry for longer to deepen the flavours. If you’d like it a bit spicier, you can add a bit of gochujang at this stage. Pour in the kimchi juices. Break the rice up with your hands (get them wet to prevent it sticking too much) and then add it to the pan. Stir continuously, gently breaking up any lumps of rice. If needed, add a bit more oil… fried rice really does require more oil than you think! When it’s thoroughly combined and all hot, drizzle over the sesame oil, throw in the sliced spring onion and add salt to taste and continue frying and tossing for a couple more minutes to combine thoroughly. Take your fried rice, the bokkeumbap, off the heat.
Heat a frying pan, add a little oil and fry your eggs as you like them. Plate your bokkeumbap, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and top with an egg per serving and some gim. Serve.
Sat, 19 Mar, 2011 at 00:31
oh man i LOOOVE Korean kimchi fried rice and with spam you can’t go wrong! Yay for Spam Appreciation Week! We sure do appreciate 🙂
Sat, 19 Mar, 2011 at 00:32
SPAM! I don’t get it. Although it seems I am alone. Didn’t eat it growing up so that might be it. I do love Kimchi though and this does look amazing. Even with the spam in 😉
Sat, 19 Mar, 2011 at 05:28
I love food and I really enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for sharing this post. Feel free to check out our recipes.
Recipe Chefs –
http://recipechefs.wordpress.com
Sat, 19 Mar, 2011 at 08:16
I promise: no more Monty Python jokes!
Just struck me that diced Spam might be acceptable in a Tartiflette or a Tiroler Groestl … I’ve already tried making a sort of Spam Nasi Goreng, and trying to think of a clever name for it.
Sat, 19 Mar, 2011 at 10:22
yum spam & kim chee…love 🙂
Sat, 19 Mar, 2011 at 18:59
Mmm I’ve enjoyed something similar like kimchi fried rice in New Malden once. I like spam as I enjoy eating salted or cured meats. Just have to find a day to visit the area especially H-Mart to source some of the ingredients!
Sat, 19 Mar, 2011 at 22:44
oh yum, I didn’t know it was spam appreciation week and am grateful to you for keeping me in the know! Everything in this dish sounds lovely and flavorful, just the thing for the cold windy weather… and now I must go check out the kao phat amerikan (somehow that sounds like an insult phonetically!)
Sun, 20 Mar, 2011 at 17:28
Best looking plate of spam ever!
Sun, 20 Mar, 2011 at 22:32
Yum yum yum! This dish looks FAB!
Sun, 20 Mar, 2011 at 22:50
Ah man, kimchi fried rice, spam and even a sunny side egg. Count me in! I love Korean toasted seaweed too. I sometimes snack on it right out of the package.. 😉
Mon, 21 Mar, 2011 at 06:06
I knew that there was a SPAM Museum but I didn’t realise that there was a SPAM appreciation week! 😮 This looks delicious!
Mon, 21 Mar, 2011 at 10:36
If I’d’ve known Spam were giving away tins and aprons I’d’ve held back on my recent Johnson Tang post.
Spam and kimchi are a match made in heaven.
Mon, 21 Mar, 2011 at 14:01
Spam appreciation week! Realising this made my quite boring day a lot brighter – and I don’t even like spam. Or that’s a lie, I’ve never tried it because it creeps me out a bit. What is spam, anyway?!
Mon, 21 Mar, 2011 at 14:24
Good, simple, quick. Sounds lovely. Although I might go all fusion and substitute chorizo for the spam… Love the addition of the fried egg on top, rather than scrambled mixed in. I might give poached a go too, just for that glorious soft yolk. Or maybe even raw like the Japanese…
Tue, 22 Mar, 2011 at 12:34
catty: Yayyy… anything chilli and spam goes together, doesn’t it?
Niamh: 🙂 It’s delish!
Recipe Chefs: Thank you very much!
travelrat: Spam nasi goreng sounds fantastic!
kat: I heart kimchi and spam too!
Robert: I think you’ll love H-Mart.
foodhoe: That American fried rice had me all puzzled – not sure where the raisins come from…
Foodycat: Thank you kindly!
Gastronomer: Thank you very much!
Dennis: I’ve still got a few packets and I think that’s exactly what I’ll do with them!
Lorraine: Do you know about SpamJam? The annual celebrations for Spam in the US?
Joshua: Johnson Tang sounds so strange to me… I much prefer Budae Jjigae! 😀 I had no idea they were going to send me all of that stuff…they just contacted me on Twitter and asked if I’d like a few tins for cooking for the week.
Hanna: Spam supposedly is named for “spiced ham”. Try it – you might like it!
The Grubworm: Ooooh, chorizo would be good too. I wonder if they still make hot and spicy spam…
Tue, 22 Mar, 2011 at 19:15
Even though I’m not a fan of Spam. Korean kimchi fried rice sounds like just the thing I would eat. Love kimchi my fav.
Thu, 24 Mar, 2011 at 11:17
Maunika: You could always substitute bacon for the spam!
Fri, 25 Mar, 2011 at 08:09
But do you have a SPAMDLE?! That’s a candle, made in an old SPAM tin! It’s absolutely hideous but it’s called a SPAMDLE.
Fri, 25 Mar, 2011 at 16:16
Helen: Um… do I want a Spamdle?
Sat, 26 Mar, 2011 at 01:27
Delicious! Kimchi is amazing, I love making it myself. The beauty of fried rice is that you can stir fry almost anything with rice (including, most definitely, SPAM), and it will taste glorious. I happen to be Thai, and grew up eating Khao phat amerikan! Something about the sweetness from the ketschup makes it so savory. My favorite is with pineapples added. Great dish.
Mon, 28 Mar, 2011 at 13:04
serenapram: Oooh, I do like a good pineapple fried rice! And you’re hardcore, making kimchi yourself!
Wed, 10 Aug, 2011 at 20:38
[…] Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap « Tamarind and Thyme – I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used … […]
Thu, 11 Aug, 2011 at 02:28
[…] Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap « Tamarind and Thyme – I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used … […]
Thu, 11 Aug, 2011 at 03:16
[…] Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap « Tamarind and Thyme – I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used … […]
Sun, 14 Aug, 2011 at 09:59
[…] Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap « Tamarind and Thyme – I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used … […]
Sun, 14 Aug, 2011 at 11:54
[…] Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap « Tamarind and Thyme – I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used … […]
Thu, 21 Apr, 2016 at 17:33
[…] Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap « Tamarind and Thyme – I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used … […]
Mon, 25 Apr, 2016 at 02:42
[…] Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap « Tamarind and Thyme – I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used … […]
Tue, 3 May, 2016 at 04:48
[…] Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap « Tamarind and Thyme – I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used … […]
Tue, 3 May, 2016 at 05:07
[…] Kimchi and Spam Bokkeumbap « Tamarind and Thyme – I decided to combine the two to make a bokkeumbap, a Korean fried rice. There was a very good Korean restaurant down the road from where I live but they closed for a new start (so said the sign on the door) and they used … […]