Only a true hero starts the day with Spam.
Design by Justine Zwiebel / Buzzfeed. Photographs by Lauren Zaser / BuzzFeed
When Chef Dale Talde came to the BuzzFeed test kitchen to make breakfast, he made so much of his Kimchi and Spam Fried Rice that the food team could eat it for breakfast and lunch and dinner. And therefore it was a very, very good day.
Talde is known for making food that's not just delicious but downright craveable. He's probably even better known for being a contestant on season six of Top Chef and later on Top Chef: All-Stars. But really, that's just the tip of the iceberg. His three restaurants—Talde, Pork Slope, and Thistle Hill Tavern, all in Brooklyn, NY — serve food that is well conceived and well cooked, without being pretentious. He's also got two Jersey City restaurants coming soon, Talde Jersey City and Carrino Provisions.
So, what inspired this fried rice? "I'm just predisposed to loving Spam," Talde says. "It is a major protein in the Philippines." And while he doesn't serve Spam at his restaurants (because actually, Spam is EXPENSIVE these days), his cooking is heavily influenced by his upbringing as a first-generation American with parents born in the Philippines. He cooks Asian food with a decidedly Middle American twist.
This dish is not a traditional fried rice. "Kimchi Fried Rice is not like a fried rice that we'd normally make at the restaurant," Talde says. "Because of how much liquid the kimchi has, it never gets that breath of the wok or the char on it. So it's more like a rice stir-fry." And of course, there's the Spam.
This is chef's limited edition gold Gray Kunz spoon. It, too, was integral in the making of this fried rice.
Lauren Zaser / BuzzFeed
Here is everything you'll need to make Spam and Kimchi Fried Rice that serves four peoplet:
Scallions, eggs, sesame oil, garlic, Spam, jasmine rice, yellow onion, kimchi, Korean chili flakes or red pepper flakes, canola oil (not pictured), unsalted butter (not pictured).
Lauren Zaser / BuzzFeed
