TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Philippine Cooking: Spam, Eggs, and Rice Breakfast

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Philippine Cooking: Spam, Eggs, and Rice Breakfast

Growing up in the Philippines, canned food like Spam, Corned Beef, and Vienna Sausage were considered special.

One of my favorite breakfast was (and is) Spam, eggs, and rice. The rice was steamed, although fried garlic rice became popular when I got older. The eggs were fried, over-easy. The Spam was also fried, but just when the pieces were almost done, we sprinkled sugar on the Spam so that each piece had a caramelized coating -- red brown, gooey, with crisp edges, absolutely heavenly. Using your spoon and fork, you got a bit of egg, Spam, and rice and popped that in your mouth --- oh, the thought makes my mouth water!

I was surprised to learn, when I came to the US, that Spam is not considered special and is, in fact, reviled by some. Spam is sometimes referred to as "white trash or trailer food." I've heard some American friends say they never ate Spam in their entire lives. I don't know if they're telling the truth, because obviously quite a number of Americans are eating Spam. There is an Annual Spam Festival and an annual Spam Jam in the U.S. The way I look at it the makers of Spam are doing just fine.

In places like the Philippines and Hawaii though, people are united in their love for Spam. In Hawaii, they even make Spam Sushi - see picture, courtesy of Spam.com.

In the Philippines, we stick to frying Spam, with or without the sugar caramelized coating. I know that Filipinos in America continue to enjoy this breakfast.

Try this Filipino breakfast sometime!

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.