Traditional Recipes, Modern Flavors: Cooking it up con SPAM® Classic

Moving away from home provides us with an opportunity to learn new things while embracing the familiarities that make us feel comforted with a fresh perspective. This allows us to meet ourselves in new ways while also honoring and championing our cultural heritage, from how we design our new homes to the way we cook and prepare our food. 

As someone who has lived as a bit of a nomad, having something to anchor me in the present has been really important; for me, that was my mom’s cooking. Coming home to one of my favorite dishes was always a highlight of my day. Looking back at my college days, I remember the angst I felt being dropped off at Loyola Marymount University as a first-generation Panamanian American college student. It feels like yesterday that I was navigating feelings of being lost and confused but also excited about my newfound freedom.  

As I settled into my new life as a college student, I occasionally felt homesick. Despite enjoying the freedom of adulthood, I sometimes missed the structure and “house rules” my family adhered to. As much as I sought freedom, too much freedom sometimes felt overwhelming. Eventually, I realized that to really thrive in this next chapter of my life, I had to tailor my routines to suit not only who I was but who I was becoming, and that meant tapping into some of those traditions from home while also creating a few of my own.  

As I mentioned, a good home-cooked meal was always a constant in our house when I was growing up. When I felt disconnected, I knew I could return home for the weekend, and my mom would make a meal that instantly put a smile on my face. Mom’s meals always made everything feel better and put things into perspective for me. As long as I had a good home-cooked meal from Mamá, no problem was too big for me to overcome.  

One of the ways I learned to cope with these changes and transitions away from home was through the comfort of food and honoring the dishes that make me feel at home. Creating and establishing a sense of normalcy through familiar foods provided that warm, cozy blanket feeling away from home. I wasn’t alone. Since college, many of my Latin American friends have also turned to cooking to root themselves, often finding new ways to reinvent the foods they grew up with. 

Admittedly, my mom’s food is still the ultimate comfort for me, but I’ve managed to recreate some of those classic dishes on my own thanks to SPAM® Classic, a staple in her recipes that give me instant access to the familiarity and comfort I sought at home in my mom’s kitchen.

Growing up as Panameña in Los Angeles, one of the most popular dishes in  our home was un delicioso arroz con pollo. On occasions, when we were pressed for time or if she wanted to amp up the flavor of the dish, my mom would  use SPAM® Classic in place of chicken. What I love most about this meal, besides it being ridiculously mouth-watering, is how quick and easy it is to incorporate in my meal prep. It’s also a nice reminder that “home” is always just one quick dish away. Aqui, les comparto my mom’s one-of-a-kind arroz con SPAM® Classic recipe:

Arroz Con SPAM® Classic Recipe (Estilo Panameño):

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of white Jasmine rice
• 1 ½ can of SPAM® Classic (thinly sliced or cubed)
• 1 can of mixed vegetables 
• 1 12oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 2 bay leafs 
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 yellow onion (cut into cubes)
• 1 bell pepper (cut into cubes)
• 3 garlic cloves (peeled and mashed)
• 1 tsp of cooking oil
• Salt and pepper as desired or needed

Directions:

• Cook rice to your liking.
• Drain can of mixed vegetables before adding to the rice. 
• Sautee SPAM® Classic in a pan with cooking oil and set aside.
• Make Sofrito: In the same pan, make a sofrito with the onions, bell pepper, and garlic by adding tomato paste and sauce. Bring to a boil.
• Add sauteed SPAM® Classic to the sofrito and let it all cook together for 10 mins on low heat.
• Afterwards, slowly mix the SPAM® Classic with sofrito to the previously cooked rice.
• Cover and cook on low heat for about 5 min,

This dish pairs nicely with an avocado salad & Patacones (fried green plantains), as pictured. 

Stock up on SPAM® Classic here, get cooking and enjoy!