Sumary of The American canned meat that’s undeniably Asian: four recipes with Spam:
- I’m part of the Asian diaspora and for me, this very American product tastes like home.
- The use of Spam is ingrained in the regional cuisines of the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong, which may seem inconsistent with local cooking styles, ingredients and techniques.
- Spam has a long history as a convenience product, a food ration, a luxury item and a leftover from US colonialism.
- At the time, other companies were using waste products and offcuts like pork noses to make their deli meat, so Spam’s comparative high quality and affordability made it a hit with families struggling through the Great Depression.
- Spam has a long history in Asia, where it was imported from the US and sometimes considered a luxury product because of its proximity to western culture.