Spam fried rice is a great, economical meal that makes a great weeknight dinner!
Friends, my kids have been obsessed with take out lately.
I think it’s because I’ve been kind of obsessed with not getting take out. We were in a slump there for awhile where we were eating out 3 or 4 times a week.
I mean, I homeschool my kids so we’re all here for 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. I guess 3 or 4 out of 21 meals isn’t terrible, but it’s not great and it was sure getting expensive.
I’ve been trying to come up with creative and easy lunch ideas because that’s where I usually get stuck.
When the kids asked to hit up our local Asian joint, I compromised with this easy fried rice recipe instead. It was a hit!
Homemade fried rice is so darn easy and my kids LOVE it. Let me show you how we do this!
Fried rice ingredients:
Which rice is best for fried rice? Be sure to grab either medium or long grain rice. Jasmine rice works really well in fried rice.
We fill our fried rice with the basics – carrots, peas, scrambled eggs, and scallions.
For the meat, I’m using Spam. You can absolutely swap in ham if you have it on hand, but I like Spam because of how crispy the outsides get, it’s cheap, and I can always keep a can in the pantry so it’s ready to go when I need it. You won’t find me munching on a slice of Spam, but I kinda love it in my fried rice.
Bacon Fried Rice is another favorite in our house!
How to make fried rice:
Can fried rice be made with fresh rice?
Yes, it CAN be made with fresh rice, but you’ll need to give it a little love first.
I take my freshly made rice and spread it out on a sheet pan and let it cool down for 30 minutes or so at room temperature. This allows some the moisture to evaporate and helps keep your rice from turning to mush.
If you’d prefer to use day old rice, that works great too and is my preferred method. I just don’t always have day old rice on hand when the craving hits.
To start, you’ll want to heat a wok or large, deep skillet. Add a little oil and your diced Spam and let it get crispy.
Stir in onions and cook those until softened, along with a little garlic and ginger.
Next, I like to add frozen peas and carrots. Once they have cooked down a bit, it’s time for rice.
Stir fry the rice and vegetables in a little soy sauce until good and hot.
Push everything in the pan off to one side and add a little bit of oil to the pan. Break your eggs in, hit them with a little soy sauce, and start scrambling.
When the eggs are cooked through, stir everything back together, sprinkle on some chopped scallions, squirt on some sriracha and serve!
What to serve with fried rice:
Homemade egg rolls, of course!
Korean BBQ Pork Chops go great with fried rice, and so does this pork stir fry!
If you’re looking for a low carb main dish to go along with your fried rice, try this chicken stir fry.
I hope you’ll give this easy fried rice recipe a try! I know Spam fried rice might seem a little out there, but it’s seriously so good!
Spam Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice medium or long grain
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces Spam diced
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 3/4 cup peas frozen or canned
- 3/4 cup diced carrots frozen or canned
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce divided
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons chopped scallions
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the rice, stir once, and return to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Spread rice out on a large baking sheet and set aside. Let cool for 20 minutes before moving on to the next step.
- While rice is cooling, heat the oil in a large deep skillet or wok over medium high heat.
- Add the Spam to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the onions and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger and continue cooking for 30 seconds.
- Add the peas and carrots to the skillet and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
- Add rice to the skillet, sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.
- Push everything in the pan off to the side and crack the eggs into the empty space of the pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce and stir to break up the eggs. When eggs are cooked through, stir them into the rice mixture.
- Remove from the heat and top with scallions. Add a drizzle of sriracha, if desired.
CATHERINE ROSE BALLARDO-WATSON says
You know this is a good recipe when you have left over rice. That’s what my dad use to make. He never added ginger.
Cindy says
This was delicious! The kids and I had never had spam before. Even my picky eater wanted more spam! Everyone in the family loved it. I will be mailing this again.
Jere says
I’ve made this 5+ times, always turns out awesome! Simple and delicious!
Karly says
Love to hear that! 🙂
Karen Kent says
This was so good!!! As we are still in lockdown, I was looking for a way to use some leftover rice from last night’s curry. I found your recipe and had everything but sriracha on hand. I look forward to eating this as left overs too (which if you knew me, would be almost miraculous)
This recipe is a keeper!!
Karly says
Love to hear that!
Asia says
Make this all the time. My secret is adding 1T of Oyster Sauce at the end and mix it in. Takes on this amazing taste. Hands down I got the best fried rice.
Kim Espina says
I used maggi and a little oyster sauce. ?
bobby says
This makes the stuff from the Chinese restaurant pale in comparison. I substituted beef broth instead of water for the rice and teriyaki instead of soy. Almost couldn’t stop eating it. The sriracha at the end is also much recommended.
GRANT K says
Being half Thai and American my dad used spam a lot! I can say I’ve never had it in fried rice but will be making your recipe soon! I’m sure I will have a flood of memories come back to me once I start opening those cans. Thank you for all your recipes. Just made the Alfredo sauce last night. It’s a keeper!
Sabrina B. says
love fried rice but don’t allow myself to eat it too often, but when I do I like the idea of controlling my ingredients, so thank you for this recipe!
Mitja says
I just love fried rice, we often make it. We hardly ever make the same recipe twice though, since we just use whatever we find in the fridge 🙂
Liz N. says
As an Asian American, I grew up eating Spam (a Hawaiian and Filipino favorite). I’m so glad to see Spam becoming more mainstream and more accepted. I still get friends who will turn up their nose to it until they try my Spam Fried Rice or Spam musubi (Spam sushi). I love it so much that I buy Spam by the case at Sam’s Club! It’s not something I eat all the time but when I’m pressed for time, it is easy, quick and delicious.
Catherine says
This looks incredibly delicious! I have never tried spam before, but after seeing your recipe, I am totally sold!! 😀
Emilee Johnson says
I made this tonight and we all loved it! I had never had spam before, and was feeling brave enough to try it. So glad I did! The husband and 7yo and 4yo all gave it 2 thumbs up, which doesn’t happen often!
Christina says
You should add ketchup and make omurice!
Karly says
Never heard of that!
christina says
you make a thin egg crepe ish sort of thing and you put it over the rice like a cover and then you draw a picture with ketchup on the egg!
Kim Espina says
My mom always put ketchup on my fried rice when I was a kid. I still eat it that way lol. Didn’t know it was an actual thing!
Laura Reigel says
I agree that is the Hawaii Ono way 🙂 ketchup on rice and eggs always.