【Fishing Dish】The rich flavor is irresistible! Making and eating "Spam Mayo Rice Bowl" by the stream

Using "Spam," which the author has recently become hooked on, I create the fishing dish "Spam Mayo Rice Bowl." A lunch that can be finished at the fishing spot, enjoying a picnic feel along with nutritional replenishment.

I want to eat my favorite spam while taking a break from stream fishing

As an outdoor enthusiast, my favorite is “spam” because it keeps well and is easy to carry.

While it is a staple of Okinawan cuisine, I researched to see if there were any easy recipes for cooking while camping or fishing, and I found and decided to try the idea of “spam mayo donburi.”

It is basically the same as the classic “pork egg musubi” using spam, but the key here is to stir-fry it and turn it into a donburi. The preparation is complete by simply dicing the spam into cubes for easy scooping. All you need to bring are eggs, mayonnaise, rice, and optionally some oil and pepper.

You can cook rice on-site, but after a tiring day of fishing, I wanted to skip that step, so I decided to bring some pre-cooked rice from home. If you take it with ice packs, it will return to around room temperature by the time you eat. Even on hot summer days, as long as the storage conditions are right, it’s easier than cooking on-site.

Running around since early morning, and it's already noon but I'm starving.

It was a harsh late summer day in the local area, but the stream was pleasant. Following my curiosity, I explored the uncharted field thoroughly. While checking the terrain and the density of fish, the distance traveled on foot became quite long. My light breakfast had already run out of energy, and despite it being just before noon, I was already hungry.

I took a break from fishing and prepared to cook by the forest road. Since the weather was nice, I decided to cook outside the car.

Cooking with a burner by the forest road, frying spam and eggs.

Thanks to the ice pack, the rice was cooled but not too hard, just right. I realized I forgot the oil here, but I want to believe that it won’t stick because I have a non-stick frying pan. This is my first time cooking outdoors even though it's not camping, and I’m surprisingly excited.

First, I decided to fry the spam to render the fat. I thought that using this fat to fry the eggs would allow them to come off the pan cleanly, so I cooked it slowly. With the browning and the delightful aroma rising, my appetite was stirred.

Nervously, I tried cracking the egg in, and somehow it was sliding on the frying pan! I liked that this recipe uses the fat from spam to fry the egg, it’s practical. I quickly set it into an omelet shape, and the cooking was complete. All that’s left is to place the ingredients in the bowl.

The richness is irresistible for my fatigued body.

Once I added the ingredients and topped it off with as much mayonnaise as I wanted, it was finished. It looks good too.

The saltiness of spam and the richness of mayonnaise seep into my exhausted body. Since I used "25% reduced salt" spam, it’s nice that it’s not too salty even with mayonnaise. It’s up to personal preference, but it does seem like pepper is a good addition.

I feel like I can enjoy the mood of stream fishing and picnicking, and my enjoyment has expanded. Since there's nothing around, it’s important to prepare delicious meals to spend time comfortably. If I can get proper nutrition, I can continue fishing, so I can enjoy fishing and nature for a long time in the stream I’ve come to.

I want to expand the variety of meals I can make in between fishing, so I plan to research fishing spots along with developing new recipes.

Interview & Text / Kazuma Tanaka

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