Savory soy gravy with a touch of heat and sweet bitterness, merges with rich egg yolks, crisp tender bok choy and salty Spam.

Spam and Eggs w/ Soy Red Eye Gravy

Serves 2

This proud New Yorker like most African Americans, has solid Southern roots. Those roots have always impacted my food even if their flavors are less prominent. This twist on a traditional Southern breakfast demonstrates that fact perfectly.

For this twist on Ham and Red Eye Gravy, I use Spam to replace the traditional country ham. While Spam is markedly fattier, it is equally as salty. The gravy maintains its use of coffee here, using instant instead of drip as it is more convenient but adds soy sauce and fish sauce. In addition to the heat from gochugaru to counter some of the salinity, the sauces add a roundness to the gravy. As I’ve mentioned in posts before, I like to use juk, Korean rice porridge, in places where grits are traditionally used. Barring the flavor of the corn in grits, juk and grits serve exactly the same purpose, a relatively blank canvas of creamy starch. However, I also like to serve this with hot rice. The eating experience is completely different but makes for a lighter more aromatic overall meal.

Ingredients

Sauce

50ml (0.25 c) water

2g (0.50 t) granulated sugar

1g (0.25 t) MSG

1g (0.25 t) gochugaru

0.25 t heaped instant espresso or instant coffee

35ml (2 T + 1 t) soy sauce

20ml (4 t) fish sauce 

Finishing

5ml (1 t) vegetable oil

4 slices of Spam

4 large eggs

*2 portions hot juk, grits or rice

Bok choy, blanched and kept warm

Method

1.      In a small bowl, combine the water and dry ingredients for the sauce stirring to dissolve.

• Add the soy and fish sauce and stir until well combined. Set aside.

2.      Place a paper towel on a plate and set aside.

3.      Heat a nonstick saute pan over medium-high.

• Add the vegetable oil and heat 30 seconds longer.

• Place the Spam in the pan and cook 2 – 3 minutes on each side until well browned and crisp.

• Reduce heat to medium and remove the Spam to the prepared plate. Keep warm.

Do not drain the fat from the pan.

• Crack the eggs into the pan and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until the whites are set and the yolk is still runny.

Continue to Step 4 while the eggs cook

4.      Arrange the juk, grits or rice on the serving dish with the bok choy and Spam.

• Place the cooked eggs on the serving dishes with a few grinds of black pepper and return the pan to high heat.

• Add the sauce to the pan and bring to a boil.

• Boil 20 seconds then spoon generously over the plates.

5.      Serve.