Food of my friend: Chamoru Triple Threat!
When I put out a post on Facebook asking my friends to share recipes, I received one for Chamoru shrimp patties from my friend, Lorraine. Before I had a chance to make it, she made some for me in exchange for my cinnamon rolls. The food swap led to my purchasing a newly released cookbook from a friend of hers: Chamoru Cuisine: A Mariånas Cultural Legacy by Gerard and Mary Aflague. It is exactly the kind of cookbook I like; full of history and cultural references, in addition to recipes and beautiful photos.
Three dishes on the menu tonight: Chamoru red rice (hineksa' agaga'), soy garlic chicken (estufao månnok) and spice-soy Mariånas sauce (fina'denne'), a classic condiment that I had already come across but never made.
Chicken first--here's the cast.
Shoyu, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar are mixed together and poured over the chicken, then popped into the fridge for a couple of hours. I flipped the bag over a few times to make sure all the chicken got marinated.
When it was time to cook the chicken, onions and garlic were sautéed till the onions were translucent.
The chicken and its marinade were added, along with some bay leaves. I gave it a quick stir and brought the pot up to a boil.
I lowered the heat to a simmer, then covered the pot for 20 minutes. I did stir it at about the halfway point.
After the chicken had cooked for 20 minutes, I removed the cover and added black pepper and the red bell pepper. It simmered for an additional 15 minutes.
Green onions were added last and after a few more minutes, it was ready! The chicken was a cross between shoyu chicken and adobo; both the shoyu and vinegar flavors were nicely subtle and the chicken was very tender.
Here's the cast for the rice!
Annatto seeds or achiote, as I grew up calling them, is a mild spice that gives food a distinct orange-red color. The recipe called for 6 tablespoons and unfortunately, I didn't have quite that much. I used what I had.
Now this is where I deviated from the recipe. I suspect there was a typo in the amount of warm water the seeds were to be soaked in. The recipe called for 3-1/2 cups. Since all of this water is added to the rice (5 cups worth) and the recipe also calls for 4 cups of chicken stock...well, 8-1/2 cups of liquid is waaaay too much for that much rice. I poured only 1-1/2 cups of warm water in with the achiote seeds.
While the seeds were soaking, I gave the rice a fast wash. Just a few rinses to get any dust or debris out.
I used a disposable glove so my hand wouldn't get stained while I squeezed the achiote and rubbed them to color the water red.
The colored water was poured into the rice and the seeds were strained out.
Then I added the chicken broth.
I added coconut oil to the frying pan and in doing so I remembered why I don't cook with coconut oil much. I really don't like the way the oil smells as it heats. Really, don't.
I sautéed the onions, green onions and garlic till they were translucent.
Then I added the frozen peas and a bit of butter.
The cooked veggies were added to the rice.
After the vegetables were added in, I still felt there was just too much liquid in there. I took out about 3/4 of a cup before I put the rice on to cook. After 10 minutes of cooking, I gave the mixture a stir, then left it alone till it was done.
The rice definitely didn't have enough achiote color. Since I had some ground achiote powder, I added it in.
Much better! I am very glad I reduced the liquid. The rice was perfectly cooked. Interestingly, the fragrance of the coconut oil, along with the slightly-stickier-than-normal texture, made me think of mochi rice.
The fina'denne' was so easy to make and I already had most of the ingredients out for the other dishes. Here's the colorful cast.
I like a little heat but I can't handle a lot of it. I used about a fourth of a jalapeño pepper and left it in big pieces so no one would eat it. Unless they wanted to.
The sauce is beautiful and the bite from the lime juice wonderfully offsets the saltiness of the shoyu. It reminded us a lot of the sauce that is served with lechon kawali. Yum.
I sautéed some beet greens from Tom's garden and served it alongside. The slight bitterness of the greens was great with the light vinegariness of the chicken. The fina'denne' is the perfect addition to the mild-tasting rice.
Total comfort food!
Here's the book!
Three dishes on the menu tonight: Chamoru red rice (hineksa' agaga'), soy garlic chicken (estufao månnok) and spice-soy Mariånas sauce (fina'denne'), a classic condiment that I had already come across but never made.
Chicken first--here's the cast.
Shoyu, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar are mixed together and poured over the chicken, then popped into the fridge for a couple of hours. I flipped the bag over a few times to make sure all the chicken got marinated.
When it was time to cook the chicken, onions and garlic were sautéed till the onions were translucent.
The chicken and its marinade were added, along with some bay leaves. I gave it a quick stir and brought the pot up to a boil.
I lowered the heat to a simmer, then covered the pot for 20 minutes. I did stir it at about the halfway point.
After the chicken had cooked for 20 minutes, I removed the cover and added black pepper and the red bell pepper. It simmered for an additional 15 minutes.
Green onions were added last and after a few more minutes, it was ready! The chicken was a cross between shoyu chicken and adobo; both the shoyu and vinegar flavors were nicely subtle and the chicken was very tender.
Here's the cast for the rice!
Annatto seeds or achiote, as I grew up calling them, is a mild spice that gives food a distinct orange-red color. The recipe called for 6 tablespoons and unfortunately, I didn't have quite that much. I used what I had.
Now this is where I deviated from the recipe. I suspect there was a typo in the amount of warm water the seeds were to be soaked in. The recipe called for 3-1/2 cups. Since all of this water is added to the rice (5 cups worth) and the recipe also calls for 4 cups of chicken stock...well, 8-1/2 cups of liquid is waaaay too much for that much rice. I poured only 1-1/2 cups of warm water in with the achiote seeds.
While the seeds were soaking, I gave the rice a fast wash. Just a few rinses to get any dust or debris out.
I used a disposable glove so my hand wouldn't get stained while I squeezed the achiote and rubbed them to color the water red.
The colored water was poured into the rice and the seeds were strained out.
Then I added the chicken broth.
I added coconut oil to the frying pan and in doing so I remembered why I don't cook with coconut oil much. I really don't like the way the oil smells as it heats. Really, don't.
I sautéed the onions, green onions and garlic till they were translucent.
Then I added the frozen peas and a bit of butter.
The cooked veggies were added to the rice.
After the vegetables were added in, I still felt there was just too much liquid in there. I took out about 3/4 of a cup before I put the rice on to cook. After 10 minutes of cooking, I gave the mixture a stir, then left it alone till it was done.
The rice definitely didn't have enough achiote color. Since I had some ground achiote powder, I added it in.
Much better! I am very glad I reduced the liquid. The rice was perfectly cooked. Interestingly, the fragrance of the coconut oil, along with the slightly-stickier-than-normal texture, made me think of mochi rice.
The fina'denne' was so easy to make and I already had most of the ingredients out for the other dishes. Here's the colorful cast.
I like a little heat but I can't handle a lot of it. I used about a fourth of a jalapeño pepper and left it in big pieces so no one would eat it. Unless they wanted to.
The sauce is beautiful and the bite from the lime juice wonderfully offsets the saltiness of the shoyu. It reminded us a lot of the sauce that is served with lechon kawali. Yum.
I sautéed some beet greens from Tom's garden and served it alongside. The slight bitterness of the greens was great with the light vinegariness of the chicken. The fina'denne' is the perfect addition to the mild-tasting rice.
Total comfort food!
Here's the book!
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