There’s been a wave of Korean food lately in America and spam is one of Korea’s staple foods. Spam is used in soups, eaten with rice in the form of bowls or gimbap, and even in sandwiches! This spam bowl with rice and veggies is a quick 30 minute dish that will leave you filled and taste delicious.
I’m not usually the type of eat a lot of spam since it’s so salty. Living in Korea for two years changed that just a bit for me. I got to taste wonderful dishes with spam that weren’t overly salty and extremely delicious. A few of my favorite Korean dishes with spam are gimbap, budae jjigae(Korean Army Stew), buchim(spam lightly fried with egg batter), and a simple spam bowl with rice.
How to make a spam bowl with rice
As stated earlier, this spam bowl with rice is so easy to make. The longest and most tedious process is the rice. If you have a rice cooker, wash your rice with water until it runs clean and follow the instructions on your rice cooker. I have to boil my rice in a pot.
I first wash my rice. This is a trick I learned in Korea. It cleanses a lot of the starch off and makes it fluffier when cooked. I usually wash about 10 times or until the water runs clear, with just lukewarm water. Sometimes I use cold water. Once the water runs clear, I cover the rice with water leaving about 1/4 inch of room between the top of the rice and the top of the water. I used to measure how many cups of water to cups of rice but it never turned out good so now I just eyeball it.
Put the rice on the stove with a high heat, give it a few stirs after adding in your salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, give it another couple of stirs, bring your heat down to simmer and cover with a lid for 30 minutes. Don’t touch it. Let the rice do its thing while you make the rest of the bowl.
Get a pan of your liking and add some oil in on a medium heat. Slice your spam to your desired thickness and add to the pan once heated. Let brown and then cook the other side. I like my spam a bit crunchy on the edges.
The Veggies
I had frozen broccoli in the freezer so I put that in the pan with my spam and let it cook. You can have fresh veggies and add them to the pan(for less of a cleanup) or roast them in the oven or air-fryer. you can even sauté your veggies in another pan if that’s your thing. Have fun with the veggies and make this spam bowl with rice your own!
The last thing to do is to fry up an egg! Once the spam is done, you can use the same pan to do that. Again, this is saving you cleanup time.
Plating the spam bowl with rice
Get a bowl of your choice. Add your rice. Neatly place the spam on one side while the veggies go on the other side. Add some soy sauce and sesame oil. If you have toasted sesame seeds, add those! It’ll bring a beautiful crunch of flavor to your bowl. I added some Tajin to my spam bowl with rice. Top it with some fresh chives or green onions and eat to your hearts content!
