Spam Fried Rice

Spam fried rice is the ultimate comfort food that takes simple ingredients and turns them into something fantastic! Loaded with crispy pieces of Spam, colorful vegetables, and the perfect blend of sauces, this spam fried rice recipe is easy to prepare on a griddle or in a skillet, and it makes a filling and budget-friendly meal any day of the week!

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Filipino, Hawaiian

Keyword: spam fried rice, spam fried rice recipe

Servings: people

Calories: 590kcal

Author: Neal

Ingredients

1½ cups dry jasmine rice *rinsed well, cooked to package instructions, and cooled for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight - see notes
12 oz Spam
1 tablespoon avocado oil or high-heat cooking oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup frozen peas and carrots mix thawed in refrigerator overnight
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh garlic about 4 cloves
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 eggs beaten
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 green onions sliced thin, whites and greens separated
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Prep the griddle. Heat the griddle on medium heat until it reaches about 400℉. Add about 1 tablespoon of your favorite high-heat cooking oil to the heated surface and spread it around with your spatula. *See notes for skillet cooking.
Fry the rice. Add the cooled rice to the oiled griddle surface in a thin even layer. Allow the rice to begin to heat up, untouched for about 3-4 minutes. Then use your spatula to break up any large clumps and stir together. Continue to stir fry the rice, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Cook the Spam and diced onions. While the rice cooks, add the diced Spam to a clear area on the griddle, spreading it out in an even layer so it can char. Then add the diced onions and whites of the green onions to a separate area on the griddle, and let them start to sweat a bit. *TIP – Place the onions on the griddle near the diced Spam, so the fat from the meat can start to render and flavor the onions.
Add the peas and carrots. Once the Spam and onions are about halfway cooked through, sauté them together. Then add the peas and carrots to the mix. Sauté the vegetables and meat together every so often, but allow them plenty of time to cook untouched on the hot griddle as well. This helps to create a nice char and add texture and flavor to the dish.
Add garlic and butter to the rice. When the rice has developed some color on the bottom, sauté together. Then make a "well" in the rice on the griddle. Add the butter and minced garlic to the well. Allow the garlic to cook in the butter until it becomes fragrant. Right before the garlic starts to turn color, mix the melted butter and garlic into the fried rice, sautéing the rice to evenly distribute the garlic.
Mix the fried rice, Spam, and veggies together. Mix the fried rice with the cooked Spam and veggies. Toss everything together so that the ingredients are evenly combined.
Add the sauces. Pour the soy sauce and oyster sauce over the fried rice. Mix together well. Sauté the for about 2-3 minutes.
Add the scrambled eggs. Pour beaten eggs partially on the side of the rice and partially on the griddle surface. Cook the eggs, then mix scrambled eggs in with the fried rice.
Garnish and serve. Drizzle with sesame oil and sauté the Spam fried rice again for about 1 minute. Then sprinkle on the top parts of sliced green onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Remove the rice from the griddle, and serve immediately with Yum Yum sauce, Sriracha, or your favorite fried rice condiments.

Notes

For the rice - Cook long grain white rice according to package instructions. When done, spread it out into a thin even layer on a large sheet tray, and allow to cool down completely. Then cover the sheet tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. *We like to cook the rice the day before and refrigerate overnight.
For the eggs - We find that adding some of the liquid eggs directly to the rice to cook helps to keep the rice moist and flavorful, but we also like the texture of some of the scrambled eggs chunks mixed in to the rice dish. That’s why we prefer to add some of the beaten eggs to the griddle and some directly to the rice. Alternatively, you can scramble the eggs directly on the griddle top, and then chop and add to the fried rice.
For skillet cooking -
1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced spam and onions. Sauté until the spam has picked up some color and the onions are mostly soft. Then add the thawed peas and carrots, and sauté together with the spam and onions. When the spam and veggies are cooked, transfer to a plate or bowl.
2. In the same skillet, add about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Allow the oil to heat up about 1 minute, then add the cooked and cooled white rice to the skillet, spreading it out into a thin even layer. Allow the rice to cook untouched for about 3-4 minutes to warm through and pick up some color. Then stir fry together for another 1-2 minutes.
3. Make a “well” in the center of the rice, and add the knob of butter and the minced garlic to the well. Allow the garlic to cook in the butter until fragrant. Right when the garlic starts to turn color, mix the butter and garlic into the rice.
4. Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce to the rice, and mix together. Continue to sauté the rice together until done to your liking.
5. Add the spam and veggies back to the skillet. Stir fry everything together.
6. In a separate skillet, cook the scrambled eggs. Break up the cooked eggs into small pieces, and mix in with the spam fried rice. Add sliced green onions for garnish, and serve immediately.

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