Late night lunch meat, decadent and happy

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Text/Zou Xiaoxiao

At a business dinner a few days ago, the client chose a Hong Kong-style fish maw chicken hotpot. During the dinner, all kinds of expensive ingredients were served in the pot, and the atmosphere was thick. I caught a glimpse of the slightly humble luncheon meat on the corner of the menu. Naturally, there was no lunch meat in that expensive hot pot meal. However, on the way back, my brain was completely occupied by it, completely ignoring the bird's wings I had just eaten.

As the most common canned food on supermarket shelves, luncheon meat has a sentimental basis with almost everyone. In an era of scarcity, luncheon meat was once a treasure box that healed a family. In the current era of material excess, luncheon meat is more like a key to the past, a memory that will always linger on the tip of the tongue when remembering the bitter and sweet.

01

Canned

People who love luncheon meat are well aware of the meaning of eating meat.

Among all kinds of canned meat, luncheon meat has the most fans, perhaps because it knows restraint and tolerance. Whether it is smell or taste, if it is more, it will be fatter, and if it is less, it will be bland. There was a time when I felt tired of eating luncheon meat. I also looked for alternatives to luncheon meat in the supermarket, such as canned braised pork ribs and canned steamed pork. They were either too greasy or had lost the original flavor of the ingredients. So in the end, I honestly returned to my original point. Since then, only luncheon meat can be called the iron-clad white moonlight on my dining table.

The king of domestic cans is undoubtedly the flat-box Merlin ham can, which has also been my favorite for many years. Since it contains no starch, such a thick box of cans is almost entirely pure meat, so a bright layer of aspic will appear around the edges. When I was a child, I knew that there was a ritual involved in enjoying a can - the can came with a key, and the key had a small rectangular hole. Find a piece of iron sheet on the can that is easy to warp, put the iron sheet through the small hole in the can key, and then roll it along the grain. I was always very careful at that time, for fear of ending the roll halfway. After the lid of the can was opened, the large piece of meat was still half-covered and half-exposed. The aroma of the meat wafted out impatiently, and the thin layer of aspic on top was ready to come out.

As the essence of a can of lunch meat, aspic is always enjoyed by me. My parents always shirk the rising cholesterol, and I secretly scrape all the trembling layers of aspic into the morning. Serve with prepared hot rice. The meat jelly melts quickly on the rice. At this time, it should be brought into the mouth while it is still hot. The rice grains will be coated with a thin layer of oily aroma, which will not be left even if it is slapped.

After scraping the aspic, it was time to eat meat. There was a whole box of canned ham. There was no need to cut or cook it, just dig it in with a spoon. The best thing is to eat canned ham on an empty stomach. It is a sophisticated meat experience. During chewing, you can feel the smooth and dense texture of the meat, and look forward to the occasional grainy and fibrous texture. This unexpected surprise in the taste will inspire you. Waiting for you to explore more, because you don’t know what kind of delicious food the next bite will be.

02

Cooking

A can of excellent lunch meat knows its advantages in taste.

The history of canned luncheon meat can be traced back to 1932. The earliest canned luncheon meat was invented by Jay Hormel (son of the founder of Hormel Company). A piece of meat made of ham, pork and starch is packed in a 12-ounce can, which is easy to store and transport, and can replenish people's calories and energy to the greatest extent. And because it was introduced at a luncheon, it was named "luncheon meat". There is another little-known anecdote about luncheon meat. At the beginning of its launch, Hormel Company held a naming contest in order to promote luncheon meat. The winning name was SPAM (Shoulder of Pork and Ham), which is The now famous Shi Bang luncheon meat.

Speaking of the origin of luncheon meat, in fact, due to the different ratios of starch and meat, luncheon meat can be divided into three types: ham, ham luncheon meat, and luncheon meat. Canned ham has the highest meat content, and luncheon meat has the highest meat content. Canned meat is the lowest.

Compared with canned ham, canned luncheon meat has a higher starch content. This formula helps to shape the meat and maintain moisture, making the mouth tighter, so it is more suitable for lightly cooking. The method does not need to be complicated, frying is the best destination for it, because this can maximize the aroma of the meat itself.

Looking at the luncheon meat landscape across the country, the further south you go, the more diverse ways to eat it. Perhaps the north eats more beef and mutton, but pork and pork products are still popular in the south.

Take a box of mediocre canned lunch meat home, and it needs to be processed and cut into thin or thick slices according to the abundance of the dinner table that day. Unlike buying meat at the meat stall in the market, where you have to pick and choose the fat and thin, lunch meat will always be fat and thin.

The fried luncheon meat is pink and tender, with a golden light all over and a slightly burnt edge. This is the most delicious part. The Maillard reaction brings this plate of luncheon meat into its best "raw" state, which can be described as "sensual" in four words. You can even taste the slightest hint of sexiness in such a side dish.

Further south, Hong Kong people have put a Hong Kong-style filter on the preparation of luncheon meat. It turns out that when I watch TVB, I always imagine what "egg noodles" taste like. Later I learned that this bowl of noodles looks simple, but is actually very sophisticated. "Meal" refers to sliced ??luncheon meat, "egg" should be fried until soft, and the egg white should have a burnt edge. The term for a tea restaurant is "raw spring", and "noodles" are Hong Kong people's favorite doll noodles.

Liang Wendao once wrote: "Today, 'meat' has become an indispensable part of many Chinese people's daily diet. Not to mention the breakfast, lunch, and daily meals in Hong Kong tea restaurants What a despairing sight it would be without “meat” in meals and fast food!”

Until I went to Hong Kong on a business trip and had dinner together, I was still thinking about a bowl of egg noodles. Fortunately, the nights in Hong Kong are long enough. After the dinner, at midnight, I actually had a bowl of authentic egg noodles alone in a small shop. This was the fulfillment of my long-cherished wish.

Later, I tried to replicate such a bowl of noodles at home. I bought a pack and took out the first diced noodle. After the water boiled, put it in the pot and simmered it for two minutes and quickly scooped it up. The wheat aroma of Yiding is stronger, chewy and refreshing. The noodles themselves are very tough and will not swell easily after being cooked for a long time. Fry the meat and eggs in a separate pan. The luncheon meat must be cut thickly and cut a few times to allow the meat and fat to come into closer contact, so that the fried luncheon meat will have a crispy texture. The remaining fat is just enough to make a perfect soft-boiled egg.

For me, the meaning of eating egg noodles is that although it is just a bowl of noodles, it is not sloppy at all, and it is worthy of my soul staying up late into the night.

03 Army Pot

Friends who have watched the Korean drama "Reply 1988" will not forget the scene of Zhengfeng eating luncheon meat. As the best eater in the whole drama, only Seeing him clenching his chubby hands into fists, scooping up a large piece of lunch meat with a spoon and putting it into his mouth, with the word "really delicious" written all over his face, the scene was like a pious meat pilgrimage.

TV series "Reply 1988"

The army pot in the cold wind exudes a direct and strong charm, making people clearly know that it is just a pot of canned food and instant noodles. , but cannot avoid the saliva secreted in the mouth. It has to be said that when the same ordinary food is presented in a pot, before the mouth has even eaten it, a scene with both sound and color can be imagined in the mind, and the sound of the beeping sounds is like blowing. The horn of fierce battle makes people unable to help but take the lead.

As a northerner, I always ask the Master to have a warm meal in winter. If it's a good friend, I usually choose the army pot. The main reason why I love military hot pot is that the process of eating military hot pot is similar to hot pot, and it is a social interaction that maximizes quality. Your eyes, nose, mouth, and hands are all occupied by such a red pot, forcing you to devote yourself to it wholeheartedly. If you neglect it a little, the noodles will be smeared on the bottom of the pot and the meat will become minced. Not only is the food getting colder, but the appetite is also wilting.

Luncheon meat is definitely the protagonist of this feast. The luncheon meat contributes the meaty aroma and in turn absorbs the strong kimchi flavor in the soup. The cheese slices on top have already melted and become even. And wrap every instant noodle wantonly. For a while, the aroma of sesame was intertwined with the aroma of meat, causing people to eat in a panic, and they were busy eating chopstick after chopstick. This pot looks rough and bold, and it feels good to eat it.

This is a perfect combination of fat and carbohydrates. Under the cover of heavy flavors, it overbearingly defeats the defense line of fat loss.

The more degraded you are, the happier you are.

When Chua Lam was writing about caviar and black truffles, he also wrote about military pot. It was in Itaewon, South Korea. After eating one pot, he commented, "It's just that." But I was worried that I would be hungry when I returned to the hotel, so I ordered another bowl of rice, took a sip of the soup with a spoon and drank it. I didn't expect it to be so delicious and sweet. It turns out that this soup is made from beef bones and marrow. We don’t need to be so particular when eating military pot rice, but the military pot soup bibimbap is truly unique, which cannot be compared to eating instant noodles in the pot alone.

Nowadays, the ingredients that can be purchased are becoming more and more sophisticated, but I can’t help but miss the approachable luncheon meat, which is the code engraved on our taste buds since childhood.

Luncheon meat is not a real meat, but I prefer to praise it for that. Whether it's fried in the aluminum lunch box the night before, the red soup simmering in the hot pot, or the cooked instant noodles with a hazy night glow, as the best supporting role, luncheon meat never takes the spotlight, but it always makes a difference. It leaves a special place in our hearts, it is a kind of affordable satisfaction, and it is also a stomach-churning iron.

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