Y A N K E E L O N D O N S T U D I O
Musings from a Yankee artist abroad in London...
SPAM
There are two Americans in the MFA cohort this year, and although we come from two distinctly different regions, a tropical island and a landlocked high desert, we have something in common: a love of SPAM; a keyhole to childhood meals and snacks. In my case, truncheons of SPAM tucked into the center of white rice rolls, covered with a blanket of seaweed were for an evening with a babysitter while my parents had the rare night out. Cubes stir-fried with "old" rice, scrambled eggs, peas and carrots for a quick lunch. Or slices simmered, with fermented soybean paste, potatoes and red chili, for a winter's day. Deng-jang jhigae was NOT the stew you'd invite your childhood friends over to have for dinner, but it is the stew that I ask my mother to make when I visit. It will have been almost 2 years when I next see my parents, due to the pandemic. So I find myself making my own version, but it won't be the same.
For one thing, my can of All-American SPAM was made... in Denmark.
For one thing, my can of All-American SPAM was made... in Denmark.
