Summer

Tiki Taco Tuesday

by:
May 19, 2011
0
0 Ratings
Tiki Taco Tuesday
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

SPAM is such an integral part of the Hawaiian diet that I can’t believe the state flag doesn’t include a picture of a can waving in that tropical breeze. This concoction originated as military food and the connection goes back to our naval bases back before Hawaii attained statehood.
Of course the hard thing is to make it taste like food. It’s cheap and nutritious in a way but still…SPAM can be nasty stuff. Nonetheless no bar is too low for Pierino to limbo when it comes to nickel and diming. Still, we do want to deliver something that tastes good and might be edible to the hungry and poor. To even my own surprise this turned out to be a success.
—pierino

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 half of one 14 ounce can SPAM leftover in the fridge from your egg breakfast
  • 6-8 corn tortillas
  • Peanut oil
  • chili oil
  • 1/2 cup sweet onion such as maui
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 cup crushed pineapple
  • Mexican style crema or sour cream (optional)
  • For table condiments: a vinegar based hot sauce such as Tabasco or piri piri (Portuguese hot sauce)
Directions
  1. Chop the onion and cut the SPAM into very small dice
  2. Heat up a skillet and add a very thin film of peanut oil. Add a few drops of chili oil to the pan.
  3. Add the onions and SPAM and stir until the onion is translucent and the SPAM is lightly colored.
  4. Stir in the soy sauce.
  5. In a second dry skillet begin heating the tortillas.
  6. On individual sheets of butcher paper or parchment slightly overlap two tortillas per taco. Add a scoop of SPAM, some pineapple, and a squirt of crema if using.
  7. Season to taste with hot sauce.
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pierino
Standup commis flâneur, and food historian. Pierino's background is in Italian and Spanish cooking but of late he's focused on frozen desserts. He is now finishing his cookbook, MALAVIDA! Can it get worse? Yes, it can. Visit the Malavida Brass Knuckle cooking page at Facebook and your posts are welcome there.

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6 Reviews

pierino
pierino May 24, 2011
A few years ago I had to go through almost three months of physical therapy for my blown out knees. One day one of therapists who grew up in Hawaii brought in a tray of Spam sushi rolls; spam, sticky rice and a seaweed wrapper. They were actually pretty damn good.
 
gingerroot
gingerroot May 24, 2011
Lol, so true about Hawaii's love for spam...we even have an annual SPAM Jam - I will admit to enjoying a spam musubi now and again but draw the line at a spam popsicle!
 
thirschfeld
thirschfeld May 23, 2011
spam fan here. Have you ever had the spam made for Southeast Asia it is less salty.
 
mtrelaun
mtrelaun May 23, 2011
I am so excited that you created a SPAM recipe for the Dirt Cheap contest! Musubi is next ;)
 
wssmom
wssmom May 19, 2011
My dad served in World War II and banned SPAM from the house ... may have to get some for this!
 
boulangere
boulangere May 19, 2011
Love it!