Savoury and full of umami, these luncheon meat fries, or SPAM fries, will leave you wanting more! Crisp outside but soft inside, they're super simple to make and on the table in under 30 minutes! (I have tested them 5 different ways!)
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⭐ Why This Recipe Deserves a Star
- Spam fries are delicious: Growing up in Asia, I probably ate more luncheon meat than was good for me! Although canned foods are quite a humble ingredient, SPAM seemed like a treat when I was a child. And if you try these SPAM fries, you'll know why- they're just so savory and moreish! Best served with Gochujang Mayonnaise on the side.
- Simple and quick: you only require 2 ingredients, SPAM (or another brand of luncheon meat) and oil. (In fact, the oil isn't even necessary, strictly speaking! I have tested the fries with several coatings, so do read on for the details on those.) Everything is done in 20 minutes!
Tip: If you like processed meat, you'll love these bleeding sausage hotdog fingers- perfect for terrorising your kids! For no-cook starters for Friensgiving/ Thanksgiving, click here or here for more Asian canapés.
🥩 What is SPAM?
Although not the healthiest of foods, luncheon meat (referred to generally as Spam in some countries) is a guilty pleasure of many Singaporeans that you can find at many cafes. If you're not familiar with luncheon meat, it's basically cooked pork in a can! (Mixed with other ingredients such as potato starch, salt, sugar, sodium nitrite etc.)
As the SPAM brand by Hormel Foods is the original, the brand is now used to represent the type of food (sort of like how we say "google" when we really mean "search online.") In Asia, another popular brand is Maling- it's so popular, a friend actually gave it to me as a present from Hong Kong (when I lived in the UK.)
SPAM fries are a great snack for gatherings such as Super Bowl parties! (Click here for more Game Day Asian snack recipes.)
Note: For other Singaporean favourite foods, click here.
How to Eat
Canned luncheon meat is almost always pre-cooked and thus ready to be eaten right out of the can. (Check the packaging just in case.)
However, there are many other ways to eat luncheon meat:
- plain in sandwiches
- in fried rice, topped with an egg (Korean style!)
- with pasta
- and of course these fries!
🐖 Ingredients
You only need these simple ingredients:
- Luncheon meat: You can use SPAM or other brands like TULIP etc. 1 can produces about 24 "French fries."
- Oil: you could technically skip this and just lightly pan fry the strips of canned pork but the SPAM fries taste best when fried. (General conclusion amongst all my testers!)
- Optional, flour: If using, coat the fries in the flour then shake off the excess before frying. Use corn flour or potato starch (not all purpose flour!) and it will make the exterior of the SPAM fry just the teeniest bit crispier. You can also follow this with an egg wash then coat in breadcrumbs (PANKO is crunchier than regular) but my testers weren't so keen on that version as they felt it "took away from the taste of the SPAM!" (That's how much Asians love luncheon meat!)
Note: The egg: panko breadcrumbs: flour ratio would be 4:1:1 (i.e. Use 1 egg for ¼ cup of panko and ¼ cup of flour for 1 can of SPAM.)
🔪 Step-by-step Instruction
- Cut your meat into ½-inch fries. You should get about 24 pieces per can.
2. Dredge the pork in the flour, shake off the excess flour and place on another plate.
Repeat till all the fries are coated.
Note: This is totally an optional step. It makes the SPAM slightly crunchier but not so much so that you must do it. (If you do, remember it's rice flour or corn flour. Do NOT use glutinous rice flour or all-purpose!)
3. Lastly, you can pop the fries into a deep-fryer. (The oil should be at 365F/ 185C, about 4-6 minutes.)
If you don't have one, fry them in a pan. To save oil, I use a shallow layer of oil- just enough to make sure the meat doesn't stick!
Turn the fries 3 times, so that each side gets fried. It took me about 8 minutes per pan.
Place the cooked fries on a kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil.
Note: place them in the pan carefully so you don't burn yourself! (Don't drop them.) You can add more to your pan than I did but make sure you don't overcrowd, or the temperature of the oil will fall and the fries won't be as crisp.
🥣 How to Serve
- Serve these scrumptious Spam fries with dipping sauces such as:
- Sambal aioli
- Sriracha
- Ketchup
- Gochujang Mayo
Note: A side of kimchi also provides a tangy note to make cut through the fat and "porky taste" of the fries.
📖 Can I make them healthier?
I can't lie. Honestly, if you're looking for something healthier, you might want to skip these and maybe try my Butternut Squash fries instead!
However, you can make this side dish slightly less unhealthy by changing the cooking method:
- You can make SPAM fries in the air fryer (200C/ 392F for 3-5 minutes per side so 6-10 minutes in total)
- The thinner the slices, the more crisp they'll be (You can slice them thinner than when you deep fry as, with deep frying, you'll have to watch out for the fries breaking in the oil if too thin.)
- Or bake them in the oven at 350F (178C/ 158C fan) for 5-6 minutes per side. (so 10-12 minutes in total.)
🥡 How to Store
Like most fried foods, these are best eaten fresh. If not, store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Don't reheat in the microwave or they'll go soggy. You'll need to pan-fry, air fry or bake in the oven again.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: To vary up the flavor, you can toss the SPAM in flour mixed with various flavorings, such as chili flakes, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika etc.
💬 Recipe FAQs
Spam is a brand of luncheon meat by the Hormel Foods Corporation that was introduced in 1937 and used during World War 2. Despite concerns over its nutritional profile, it has almost become a cult product (very popular with a niche group of consumers), with its own Monty Python sketch. Luncheon meat, in general, refers to canned cooked pork meat. Other brands of luncheon meat, besides Spam, include Tulip, Maling (very popular in Asia) and Lotte.
SPAM contains only around 1 g of carbohydrates per serving. However, it's not really Keto-friendly as it contains ingredients such as potato starch and sugar.
You can keep spam for 3-4 days in the fridge, after opening, in an airtight container. For longer storage, do move it over to the freezer!
🍘 Other Asian Snacks
Enjoyed this easy 3-ingredient SPAM fries Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this luncheon meat dish, please consider supporting it by buying me a coffee! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!
Spam fries (2-ingredients)
Equipment
- Knife & chopping board
- Wide pan Use the widest pan you have so you can fry more at 1 go!
Ingredients
- 1 can luncheon meat, sliced along the longer side into ½inch/ about 1 cm fries Makes about 24 fries.
- OIl Enough for shallow frying in a pan (or filling a deep-fryer if using 1.)
- Rice flour Optional. Substitute: corn flour. Do not use all-purpose flour or glutinous rice flour.
- Optional: garlic powder, onion powder, chilli powder etc Optional flavor. To mix into the rice flour if you want more spice.
Instructions
- Cut your meat into ½-inch fries.
- Dredge the pork in the rice or corn flour, shake off the excess and place on another plate.Repeat till all the fries are coated. (You can actually fry half coated and half uncoated for some variety, if you like!)Note: This is totally an optional step. It makes the SPAM slightly crunchier but not so much so that you must do it. (If you do, remember it's rice flour or corn flour. Do NOT use glutinous rice flour or all-purpose!)
- Heat oil in a pan till shimmering, then carefully place the fries in it.To save oil, I use a shallow layer of oil to fry the SPAM- just enough to make sure the meat doesn't stick! Note: place them in the pan carefully so you don't burn yourself! (Don't drop them.) You can add more to your pan than I did but make sure you don't overcrowd, or the temperature of the oil will fall and the fries won't be as crisp.
- Turn the fries (in the oil) 3 times, so that each side gets fried. It took me about 8 minutes per pan.
- Once fried, put on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil then serve. I highly recommend serving with Gochujang Mayonnaise or Sambal Aioli. Too much SPAM can be cloying and the acid in the 2 sauces helps to balance the flavor.
Notes
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- The thinner the slices, the more crisp they'll be (You can slice them thinner than when you deep fry as, with deep frying, you'll have to watch out for the fries breaking in the oil if too thin.)
Nutrition
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