Archive for Carolyn’s Recipes

Spam Kelaguen

Spam is a staple on Guam.  In fact, Spam has been called the “poor man’s steak” by many, although a can of Spam is not cheap!  I have a friend who lives in an area where Spam sells for about $5.00 per can!  At that price, I’d rather buy real steak! 😀

Chamorros can be quite innovative when it comes to creating Spam dishes.  An easy and classic dish is Spam Kelaguen.  This is my sister’s version.

Give it a try; I think you’ll like it. 🙂

Spam Kelaguen

Spam Kelaguen - Carol's

Ingredients:

  • 1 can Spam, cut into thin strips
  • 4-6 stalks green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup freshly grated coconut
  • Lemon juice, to taste
  • Salt, to taste
  • Hot pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Lightly pan-fry the spam (for only 1-2 minutes) then place in a bowl.

2.  Add green onions, coconut, lemon juice, salt, and hot pepper.  Mix, taste, and adjust seasonings and lemon juice, to taste.

3.  Serve with titiyas or hot steamed white rice.

ENJOY!

 

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Carolyn’s Kådun Pika (Spicy Chicken)

Kådun pika is a spicy Chamorro chicken dish that’s somewhat similar to chicken adobo. It’s an easy dish to make — it takes only a few ingredients and a few simple steps and voila! — you’ll have dinner served in no time.

Pika means “hot” or “spicy” in Chamorro. You can omit the hot chili peppers in this recipe, but then it won’t be called Kådun Pika without the “pika”. 🙂 I have one daughter who doesn’t like anything spicy. I usually prepare this dish, omitting the peppers. When it’s done, I separate a small bowlful for my daughter, then add the peppers to the rest of the pot.

The recipe below is my sister, Carolyn’s. Give it a try. I think you’ll like it. 🙂

Carolyn’s Kådun Pika (Spicy Chicken)

Ingredients:

  • 5 pounds chicken pieces
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • LOTS AND LOTS of garlic, as much as you like (or about 1/2 cup chopped garlic)
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce (more or less to taste)
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons tabasco sauce
  • 8 Thai chili peppers, chopped (more or less to taste)

Directions:

Rinse the chicken pieces; cut into smaller pieces if desired. Place the chicken in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is slightly browned.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Taste, then adjust the seasonings (soy sauce, hot peppers) to taste.

Serve with hot white rice and ENJOY!

 

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Fresh Shrimp Kelaguen

I love shrimp kelaguen.  I love kelaguen, period, but shrimp kelaguen is at the top of the list, especially if it’s FRESH SHRIMP kelaguen.  Oh, and serve this up with fresh corn titiyas…man, oh, man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

For those of you who don’t know what kelaguen is, it’s kind of like ceviche.

Funny story…I had a recipe for fresh shrimp kelaguen, then my sister, Carolyn, shared hers as well.  I went back and compared our recipes and they were almost identical. Of course they would be nearly identical — we learned to cook from the best teacher in the world, OUR MOM. Here’s to all of our moms and dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents … thanks for teaching us so many things, especially how to make all this yummy Chamorro food!

So, back to fresh shrimp kelaguen.  This is a time consuming process, but it is WELL WORTH the effort.  If this is served at a fiesta, I ignore all other food and gorge myself on this delicacy, it’s that good.

Here is my sister, Carolyn’s recipe.

Give it a try and let us know how you like it.  Enjoy!

FRESH SHRIMP KELAGUEN

Recipe by Carolyn Merfalen

Carol's Shrimp Kelaguen 1

INGREDIENTS:

  • 5 pounds fresh shrimp, with the head and shell on
  • Salt, to taste
  • Lemon juice (or powder), to taste
  • 6-8 stalks green onions, sliced
  • Freshly grated coconut
  • Hot Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Fresh shrimp (with the heads on) is best for kelaguen. You can, however, still make it using frozen shrimp (again, with the heads on).  I recommend pouring boiling water over the raw shrimp, to lessen its sliminess. Let the water run right off the shrimp, preventing it from puddling. You want to avoid it being cooked in the boiling water.

2.  Depending on your liking, you may keep the shells on. Fresh shrimp is best for this since the shells are very soft and easy to chew and swallow. Otherwise, carefully remove the shells from the body and tail of the shrimp, especially if you are using store-bought boxed frozen shrimp since those shells are hard.

3.  Work on the heads last…carefully remove the shell around the top of the heads. You should be able to see a tiny black sliver right in the center, top of the head, after removing the shell. (I don’t know what it is, but it looks dirty. My mom also mentioned it’s bitter.)  As you work with the heads, use caution in preventing the orange substance in the heads from being thrown out. That orange substance is what gives the kelaguen its reddish color and very distinct flavor.

4.  Devein the shrimp, if the shells were removed. (I usually remove them and devein them.) Mash the shrimp a bit using a fork.

5.  According to taste, add lemon juice or powder, salt, finely diced green onions, freshly grated coconut, and red hot peppers.  Mix to combine.  Serve with titiyas or hot white rice and enjoy!  Absolutely delicious!

Carol's Shrimp Kelaguen 3

Carol's Shrimp Kelaguen 4

Carol's Shrimp Kelaguen 5

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