My cousin gave me this…
…sometime ago when I went to Kuching and she said that her kids loved this brand more than the made-in-Singapore ones. I never got round to cooking it though but I finally got down to it the other day…and this was the end result…
I had a post on how I would cut the meat into bite-sized slices and pan-fry it in a non-stick pan and how the fat would melt onto the pan and there would be enough oil to fry everything without any necessity of adding any more oil. Well, I did the same with this one…
…but there wasn’t any oil in the pan that I could use . I guess that would be an indication that its fat content was much lower and I also found out that it was more difficult to cut – probably due to the chunks of meat/ham in it…and of course, another reason perhaps was that my chopper had seen better days. LOL!!!
So, I went about it the way we used to do ever since I was small…which was to fry the onions in a bit of oil, throw in the luncheon meat, sliced…and fry till red and nice and then add some egg, beaten plus a pinch of msg to enhance the taste. These days, I would go a step further and throw in some sliced chili and curry leaves as well…
And now the moment of truth!
Well, I did not think it was nicer than the Ma Ling ones we had when we were small nor was it nicer than the made-in-Singapore ones. The latter had that special fragrance but it was soft and wobbly which probably was due to the high fat content and I found that it was just nice once I had pan-fried the slices and let all the fat melt and flow out. For one thing, this brand costs an arm or a leg – I saw it somewhere in Kuching or here and the sight of the price tag sent me reeling!!! It was RM15.90 per can, I think…or somewhere around there. So all things considered, I don’t think I would want to have that again. No, thank you!
Well, at least, now I know…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Hi Arthur! Ma Ling brand luncheon meat still the number 1 brand for me!
My friend got me Ma Ling, made in Canada and they’re quite good. The local ones that we can buy here are a definite no-no – all fat, so mushy that it is totally inedible, dunno what they put inside. The China-made ones, Gulong is pretty ok.
me no likey luncheon meat…thought it smell and tasted weird…
i have been cutting down processed meat for awhile now!
SPAM, sausages, ham and bacon would have a similar smell – you don’t eat those either? But it’s good to stop eating them, that’s for sure…and anything salted or preserved – belacan, salted and century eggs, ikan bilis, salted fish, salted vegetables, tau joo and in fact, all the canned stuff.
The only one thing from the list that I couldn’t resist is, BACON! Fat and juicy ones especially! Om nom nom nom
Have to go slow on those, all in moderation. I’ve finished all that I brought home from NZ though, my friend Shereen gave me some.
It’s been awhile since I had luncheon meat. Not easy to find gulong or maling in this land of siti wan kembang! When i was small, i used to have simple pan fried ma ling meat. Was it locally made? I thought it was from china. Should be orangish label? Then when i went to uni, i found this gulong meat and other brand as well. Gulong is the one with its can entired labeled in yellow, right? Going to kl soon. Let’s see what type of luncheon meat in store there. I’ve been to singapore 6.5 years but never know there’s singapore-made luncheon meat. Must try it!
Yup! Ma Ling’s orange in the top half and light blue, the bottom. I was eating that and just that when I was young but stopped when the quality got real bad. All fat and no fragrance, just some horrendous smell. That’s right – Gulong’s the yellow tin ones. Not as nice as the old-time Ma Ling but it’s good enough. Not cheap though – over RM5.00 a can….but stewed pork or pork ribs, even worse – over RM8.00! Canned foods aren’t that cheap these days so might as well go for the fresh stuff.
nice recipe! my grandmother used to fry luncheon meat as a simple after-school lunch for me when i was in standard three to five, but after looking at your recipe, i wish she had added some egg into it as well, hehehe 😀
Yup, I see those chap fan places – they just fry the slices but sometimes, they do coat it with egg. My mum would always fry with sliced Bombay onions and egg like this and we grew up eating it this way. That’s how we like it.
I not tried this brand before…
I think the Singapore-made one is nicer…and cheaper.
yummy!! the plain ones without additional egg, onions, chili and curry leaves are already good for me..
Like the ones at the chap fan places. Sometimes I do ask for that too… Nice as well.
That is how I cook my luncheon meat too minus the curry leaves. Used to buy Gulong and I think Ma Ling is too oily.
Maybe your Ma Ling is the original – I hear there are imitations and some people can tell by the colour of their paper labels. Those are so terribly smelly I would want to throw up when I smell it. Try adding the curry leaves – extra fragrance plus they say they are good for health.
Wahhh… This one looks nice leh!
Sometimes the easiest preparation makes food taste the best!
Simplicity is the key to Foochow cooking… No hassle.
i like to eat ham too~ =D
Once in a while, shouldn’t be a problem…
Makan fresh meat la… better than the canned ones. No? 😉
Of course, but them of course, there is the question of convenience…and some are quite nice – don’t mind having it once in a while for a change.
Arthur, it looks really good! Bring back childhood memories. My grandma used to buy luncheon meat and I loved it. My grandpa was also very fond of it.
We loved it so much. Not that crazy about corned beef (Great Wall) though it was nice too with onions & potatoes added. These days, it has gone all inedible as well, same as the Ma Ling’s luncheon meat. Will never ever buy ever again.
Never thought curry leaves could be used for frying egg. Will give it a try the next time I make sandwiches.
I can smell the taste of ham; it’s haunting my palate!
It gives it that special fragrance, got extra kick… Very nice!
Very expensive! But it does look good… I only ate Ma Ling brand… and those from chap fan dunno use what brand
I dunno what brand they use. Looks good but since Ma Ling’s got so bad, I’ve stopped picking those…just in case they’re the same and aren’t good.
for better for worst
for sweet for sour
to blog and to cherish
till HAM-ed do us BURP!
BURPPPPPPPP!!!! 🙂
yummy and not so healthy:P
Come to think of it, most of what’s yummy is not healthy… Hehehehehe!!!!
thats a pretty clever way to spice up
canned goods and to make it
even more worth eating I like that product as it is
but i guess it was way better that way
Always the case – you can spice up anything, enhance the taste with a little bit of this and that…as long as they’re all compatible.
i tried cooking that with soy sauce
and onions and it was great too
sometimes it was just boring to eat dry foods
thats why we came up with that
Soy sauce? But I thought it’s already very salty? I’ve used it to cook fried rice – nothing else, I guess…but corned beef – I’ve cooked soup with it. Some people do not like though. They prefer it fried.
Nice! If it doesn’t come out with any oil after frying, it doesn’t have a lot of fat content…but that can be a downside too, I like ham with a bit of fat, just not too oily.
Very nice looking dish you have there! 🙂
Ya, I thought so too. Sure looked good…but too bad I didn’t think it was as nice as some others that I had had before.
Is ma ling the one with a great wall in the logo?
Nope. Great Wall is another brand – used to buy their corned beef but these days, it’s just as inedible. Never buy that brand anymore.
I like luncheon meat fried with egg and onion, but nowadays don’t tend to eat much canned food, and definitely try to avoid MSG (hence I don’t eat out much), I hate the feeling after. Adding curry leaves is a nice touch.
Me too. At many places, I would tell them to reduce the amount used. Like the wedding banquet I attended that day, I hardly touched all the dishes owing to the excessive msg content. But the places that I go regularly, they know already so not a problem – only when I get invited and somebody else makes the booking…and then, it will be as normal. Gee!!! Can’t understand how they do not seem to feel it at all.
I find luncheon meat too salty. Used to love the Ma Ling ones but after hearing horror stories of China products, I have not been eating them.
Not as salty as SPAM, and and even SPAM’s ok if sliced thinly and eaten with bread as sandwiches…or fried with egg and lots of onions and eaten with rice. Steer clear of the China ones – the made in Singapore ones are pretty good. This expensive brand’s made in the US…and it’s not as salty as SPAM either.
I’m with Constance. Death to the processed meat!
Long live whole fresh meat! haha~~
Still, I admit that luncheon meat tastes good.
Any in the jungle. Save some of that wild boar for me the next time you come to Sibu…
I love luncheon meat and I don’t care if it’s unhealthy or not. If I were to get cancer from eating it ( touch wood ) so be it! I have a friend who was a vegetarian since birth as his whole family is very into a religious cult ( I say so! ) and then turned into an organic food freak in his 20’s and died at the age of 35 from stomach cancer! No luncheon meat in his diet also die, right?
Yalor… In fact, I do believe that when you do not eat certain stuff, you do not have the immunity at all so when you eat, you get the backlash right away. Like I grew up eating crabs, no problem at all…but I hardly eat these days, once a year perhaps…and I would develop an allergy – start to itch every time.
My childhood favorite! Either ur photo is too good or the food is looking really appetising right now, but dammit… it’s making me hungry!! huaaaa
You mean the kampua? Or maybe it’s because you’re hungry right now…so everything looks good.
oo… I almost bought this brand as I saw it at some fancy supermarket… hehehe… ok.. now I know not worth buying… muahahaha…. I really do need to try your recipe for luncheon meat!! I just normally pan fried it plain or with a little egg coating…. 🙂
It’s way too expensive, for one thing…so it is really not worth it. Yup, go ahead and try – I’m sure you’ll love it this way. 🙂
STP, this combination looks terrific for me. I love it. It is good to eat with bread, rice and porridge. So yummy looking.
Yes, great with porridge…and yes, I usually will use the leftovers the next morning to make sandwiches.
YUMMY!!!! Now you remind me, it had been quite sometime i did not have any luncheon meat!! Hmmm…maybe it is good hor? hahahhaha
Good, very good…but I do miss it sometimes and would want to have that – once in a long while…should be all right. 😉
oh..that is one new recipe by doing stir fry with this luncheon meat. We have been always deep frying so now i know i have got other option 🙂
We never deep fry at home but I do eat it like that at the chap fan shops. At home, we would always fry with onions and egg like this…and of course, I prefer it this way.
I have not seen this brand anywhere but I quite like the ones from HOMEL. Have you heard of it?
Sounds familiar but I’ve never tried. I think they have it at one place here where they have all the imported stuff – not cheap either. 😦
Luncheon meat is one of my favorites too. Used to eat Ma Ling too but not anymore. I like how you cooked it. I am going to do the same the next time I crave for luncheon meat 😀
Go ahead. I bet you’ll love it! Very nice.