Spam, Eggs, and Rice

Spam, Eggs, and Rice is a flavorful local favorite from Hawaii. It features a bed of fluffy Japanese rice with furikake, a yolky egg, and fried Spam in a homemade teriyaki sauce.

Spam, eggs, and rice is a classic breakfast in Hawaii and within the mainland Japanese-American community. In fact, it's so common in Hawaii that you can order a plate from McDonald's! We typically serve it as pictured or with a scoop of our popular Breakfast Fried Rice.

The rice soaks up the yolk and sauce and the Spam is perfectly crisp and loaded with flavor. Make it your own with your egg of choice, like scrambled or any type of fried egg. This dish is checks all the boxes: it's flavorful, quick to make, and can easily feed a crowd!

Jump to:

• About Spam, Eggs, and Rice
• What is Spam?
• Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Instructions
• Other Ways to Enjoy Spam
• Recipe FAQs
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tips
• Related Recipes
• Did You Like This Recipe?
• Spam, Eggs, and Rice

About Spam, Eggs, and Rice

• Taste - The spam, eggs, and rice combine to create the perfect mega-bite.
• Texture - The rice is soft, the meat is firm and crispy, and the eggs have a gooey yolk.
• Effort - This Spam and Eggs recipe has a few simple steps that take some time. You can streamline the process by making the teriyaki sauce the night before or using store-bought sauce.
• Time - Depending on how you prepare the rice, it takes about 50 minutes to make. Save time by starting the rice then preparing the spam and eggs while the rice cooks.

What is Spam?

Spam stands for Special Processed American Meat. It was created in 1937 in Austin, Minnesota and slowly gained popularity after that. Today, it is hugely popular in Hawaii and is a big part of local culture. People in Hawaii love it with rice, especially in spam musubis.

Spam is mainly pork (shoulder) and ham (buttock). When fried, it is perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. We love to glaze the spam in teriyaki sauce for extra umami flavor.

Ingredients

Spam and Eggs

• Spam - Spam is a surprisingly rich and flavorful meat. We use low sodium because it is slightly healthier without sacrificing flavor.
• Eggs - Eggs are savory source of protein. We use pasture-raised eggs because they have an especially delicious flavor. They also contain more vitamins and omega-3 fats than cage-raised eggs.
• Rice - We use Japanese short-grain rice, or uruchimai. Japanese rice is sticky, starch, and moist. You can make Japanese sticky rice in a rice cooker or on a stove top in a thick-bottomed pot.
• Furikake - Furikake is Japanese seaweed seasoning. It is usually made of dried nori, or seaweed, sesame seeds, and salt.
• Sriracha - Sriracha sauce adds a hint of heat without overpowering the other ingredients.

Teriyaki Sauce

• Soy sauce - Soy sauce, or shoyu in Japanese, is an essential condiment in Japanese cooking and adds a rich umami flavor to the teriyaki sauce.
• Mirin - Mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine that adds umami flavor and is the base of many Japanese sauces and marinades.
• Sake -  Sake adds savoriness to the teriyaki sauce.
• Brown sugar - Brown sugar provides sweetness.

See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions

• Store-bought teriyaki sauce - You can replace our homemade teriyaki sauce with store-bought teriyaki sauce if you want to save time.
• Shortcut sauce - If you don't have mirin or sake, just use soy sauce and sugar. The sauce will still caramelize and taste delicious.
• Portuguese sausage - Portuguese sausage is another Hawaii favorite. It is a little spicier and more robustly flavored than spam.
• Portuguese Sausage Spam - This special Spam combines 2 of Hawaii's favorite meats: Portuguese sausage and Spam. The combination is delicious.
• No teriyaki - If you don't like teriyaki sauce or don't want to take the time to make it, you can fry the spam without it.
• Soyrizo - Rice and eggs will also be delicious with vegan soy chorizo.
• Bacon - If you want to make this recipe with bacon, check our our bacon breakfast rice bowl.
• Brown rice or Wild rice - Use brown rice instead of white rice to make this meal healthier or if you just prefer the taste and texture to white rice. We recommend Koda Farm's Whole Grain Brown Kokuho Rose, which is a Japanese brown rice with a nutty flavor. Wild rice is also a great option if you are looking for a nutritious and flavorful alternative to white rice.
• Gluten free - Both furikake and traditional soy sauce contain gluten. To enjoy this dish gluten free, season it with gluten free furikake and replace traditional soy sauce with tamari.

Variations

• Spicy - Add sriracha or your favorite hot sauce to make this breakfast spicy.
• Shoyu - Douse all of the the ingredients in shoyu for extra umami flavor.
• Eggs - This recipe will also be delicious with other types of eggs including a soft scramble, soft boiled eggs, or eggs over easy, over medium, or over hard eggs.
• Quail eggs - Soft Boiled Quail Eggs are a delicious and slightly richer alternative to traditional eggs.
• Kimchi - Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish made of salted and fermented vegetables. Kimchi will add a pungent and pickled spice to this brunch dish.
• Green Onion - Add thin sliced green onions for a bright garnish.
• Garlic powder - Garlic powder will add the quintessential aroma.
• Spring Onion - Spring onion is slightly stronger flavored than green onions but still milder than regular onions.
• Scallion - Scallion adds an aromatic flavor and a light crunch.
• Spam fried rice - Spam and egg fried rice is a delicious brunch alternative to spam rice and eggs that uses similar ingredients.

Instructions

Rice

• Rice cooker instructions - Place rice in the electric rice cooker pot and rinse the rice in the sink until the water runs clear, then drain. Combine rice and filtered water in the pot and cook per the rice cooker directions.

Teriyaki sauce

• While the rice cooks, make the teriyaki sauce. Add soy sauce, sake, mirin, and brown sugar to a bowl and whisk the ingredients. (Photo 1)

Spam and Eggs

• Cut the Spam lengthwise into 8 equal slices. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook Spam slices 3-5 minutes or until caramelized, flipping halfway through. Add teriyaki sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the slices are coated. (Photo 2, 3, and 4)

• In a separate pan, cook the eggs while the Spam cooks. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and slightly foamy, crack the egg onto a skillet and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Cook for about 2 to 2½ minutes until the egg whites go from clear to white and edges start to crisp.
• While the eggs and Spam finish cooking, distribute rice to bowls or plates. Then add eggs and caramelized Spam, and sprinkle with furikake. Serve with ketchup, Sriracha, soy sauce, or hot sauce.

Pro tip: If your pan is too small to cook all of the Spam at once, cook 4 pieces first, set them aside, then cook the remaining 4 pieces. Once all of the pieces are cooked. add them all back then drizzle the Teriyaki sauce on all of them. This will ensure all of the pieces are caramelized in the teriyaki sauce without burning the sauce..

Other Ways to Enjoy Spam

• Spam Musubi - Spam Musubi is another great Spam recipe from Hawaii. It features Spam and rice wrapped in nori.
• Spam Musubi with Egg - Add a scrambled egg to a Spam musubi for extra protein and deliciousness.
• Spam Fried Rice - Spam and egg fried rice is a flavor packed brunch and a great way to use leftover Spam and rice.
• Spam Ramen - Add Spam to ramen for a savory flavor burst.

Recipe FAQs

Equipment

This recipe requires a few kitchen essentials. In order to prepare the eggs and Spam, you will need a knife, cutting board, mixing bowl, non-stick pan or standard skillet, and silicone baking spatula or tongs. For the teriyaki sauce, you will need a whisk, measuring spoons, and a small saucepan. For the rice, you will need a pot or rice cooker, and a rice paddle.

Storage

Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. In order to reheat the eggs, heat in a covered pan over low heat. In order to reheat the Spam and rice, heat over low heat on the stove or warm in the microwave. These ingredients do not stand up well to freezing.