Hawaiian Pineapple Fried Rice is studded with delicious salty spam and juicy, sweet pineapple. It’s a flavorful and easy main dish that’s perfect for family weeknight dinners.
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I love fried rice and it’s one of my favorite things to make for my family for weeknight dinners. It’s a great way to use up leftovers like day-old rice and those random bits of veggies you have in the fridge.
Pork Fried Rice is one of the most popular recipes on my blog, and one that makes an appearance on my family’s table at least once a month. Thai Fried Rice is also a favorite.
While fried rice studded with juicy, flavorful char siu pork is always welcome, sometimes we want to shake things up. That’s where this Hawaiian Fried Rice, loaded with cubes of crispy spam and juicy pineapple, comes in.
SPAM has enjoyed huge popularity in Hawaii since the military brought it there during World War II. Lots of dishes popular with locals include it, like spam and eggs, Spam Musubi, and, of course, this spam fried rice recipe. It’s best browned and crisped in a hot skillet before you add it to your rice.
Like its cousins Pork Fried Rice and Thai Fried Rice with Chicken and Cashews, Hawaiian Spam Fried Rice is easy, flavorful, and filling. The combination of salty, crispy chunks of spam and juicy, sweet pineapple is what really makes this the best fried rice recipe. It’s a winning combo if ever there was one.
This Hawaiian Fried Rice is studded with diced pineapple, spam, eggs, and vegetables and seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil.
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Ingredient Notes
The ingredients for this recipe are things you can find in any grocery store or supermarket. Here are a few notes.
- Rice – The best rice to use for any fried rice recipe is leftover rice, preferably medium-grain or long grain white rice, that was cooked yesterday and refrigerated overnight. The cold rice will be a bit dried out, which keeps it from getting mushy when you fry it.
- Cooking oil – You can use any neutral-flavored, high-smoke-point oil. I like avocado or safflower oil, but you can also use canola, grapeseed, peanut, or another vegetable oil.
- Sesame oil – Look for toasted sesame oil and check the label to make sure it is 100% sesame oil, and not a blend of soybean oil and sesame oil.
- Spam – You can choose either the regular variety or the reduced sodium version (it's stilly plenty salty and flavorful!) Or you can substitute diced ham.
- Diced fresh pineapple – Juicy, fresh pineapple is what really gives this spam fried rice its Hawaiian flavor.
How to make Hawaiian Pineapple Fried Rice with Spam
For the complete list of ingredients with quantities and detailed prep and cooking instructions, please see the recipe card that appears at the end of this post.
- Scramble the eggs in a skillet first, then transfer them to a plate.
- Next, stir fry the carrots in the skillet and transfer to a plate (you can put them on the same plate as thee ggs).
- Do the same with the SPAM.
- Add the last of the oil to the skillet and then add the rice and cook, stirring and breaking it up, until it starts to brown.
- Return the cooked egg, carrots, and SPAM to the skillet and add the white parts of the scallions and the pineapple. Cook until everything is heated through, season generously with soy sauce, and serve immediately, garnished with the green parts of the scallions.
Check out my other fried rice recipes: Pork Fried Rice and Thai Fried Rice with Pineapple, Chicken, and Cashews.
Hawaiian Pineapple Fried Rice with Spam
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil divided
- 4 large eggs beaten
- 1 12-ounce can SPAM, diced
- 3 to 5 tablespoons soy sauce I use lower-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 4 green onions sliced thin
- 5 cups cold cooked white or brown rice ideally at least 1 day old
- 1 cup diced pineapple
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Add the beaten eggs and cook, stirring, until they are just set. Transfer to a bowl and cup up with a spatula into bite-size pieces.
- With the skillet over medium-high heat, add another 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Add the carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the carrots from the pan, adding them to the plate with the eggs.
- Add the SPAM to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally until nicely browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan, transferring it to the bowl with the eggs.
- To the skillet (still over medium-high heat), add the remaining tablespoon of cooking oil and the remaining teaspoon of sesame oil. Add the rice, breaking up with wet hands if needed. Cook, tossing regularly until the rice begins to brown in some spots. Don’t stir it too often. You want to let the bottom brown before stirring it up. This will take 8 minutes or so.
- Add the cooked egg, carrots, and SPAM back to the skillet, along with the white parts of the scallions and the pineapple. Cook, stirring, until well mixed and heated through. Season generously with the soy sauce, tossing to incorporate it well.
- Serve hot, garnished with the green parts of the scallions.
I haven’t eaten spam for years but after seeing it with the pineapple fried rice, I just had to try it – it was delicious!
Great recipe and a delicious way to use spam!