Canned Food

             If I ask any of my friends here what they think of a delicious can of Spam or corned beef, they would just be abhorred by the idea. In U.S. culture, canned food is usually thought of as gross or disgusting. I beg to differ. In some places of the world, a nice can of sardines, corned beef, or spam and its other Asian regional name, “luncheon meat”, is a delicious meal if served with rice and prepared right. First of all, if you grew up in a culture used to eating canned goods, your whole perception of its consumption is quite different. In gradeschool, parents usually pack their children's lunches with spam and rice or canned corned beef. That's why we like it.

          

             Secondly, I'm not trying to argue whether it's healthy or not, because more than likely, it does have quite a lot of preservatives and sodium. But, if you know how to prepare it right, it's still good eats. First of all, name brand is important. There are many different types of canned goods depending on the company that produces them. Therefore, there are also different brands and tastes for different types of canned goods. For example, my favorite brand of canned corned beef is Palm, made and imported from Australia. It’s not that easy to find in most groceries here in the U.S. but stores that sell imported good usually has it and it come in many different flavors such as barbeque or garlic.  

            If you buy other brands such as Hereford or a South American brand, the texture and taste of the product is quite similar. You can eat it right out of the can and that’s enjoyable. Just cut up some raw onions and lay them on top and serve with hot white rice and vinegar on the side. But of course, there are many ways of preparing canned corned beef. If you prepare it in a skillet, then fry a couple of cloves of garlic and throw that canned goodness in there for a few minutes. It’s best served with garlic fried rice.  While canned corned beef can be eaten straight out of the can or fried, Spam or luncheon meat is always usually served fried.

            Actually, if you cut up Spam thinly and fry it until it gets dark, brown, and crispy, it tastes almost like bacon. It’s commonly served as a breakfast menu item in many restaurants in Asia and probably a lot more in Hawaii. Filipinos aren’t picky eaters, and that’s how you learn become creative over the years. And yes, I have eaten and enjoyed fresh hot corned beef which you can buy per pound at the local deli. By the way, you need saltpeter to cook a fresh corned beef boil. So yes, that one ingredient in gunpowder is what gives corned beef, fresh or canned, its’ nice pink color, or else it would look like regular beef. But the canned variety is still enjoyable and while many people think of the ideas as gross and disgusting in some places, it is a feast in other locales. So my suggesting is, try it out for yourself.