Archive for CHAMORRO DISHES

Chicken Kelaguen & Flour Titiyas

Kelaguen and Titiyas ~ both staples on a Chamorro fiesta table.  But you don’t have to be invited to a fiesta in order to enjoy these tasty dishes — they are so easy to make that you can have it anytime you get the craving!

My two daughters (ages 11 and 15) prepared the dishes pictured in the photos below; if THEY can do it, so can you!

Give my super easy recipes a try.  I think you’ll like them!  🙂

Annie’s Chicken Kelaguen

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Ingredients:

  • 1 small rotisserie chicken
  • 6 stalks green onions
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon powder plus 3 tablespoons water (or use the juice of 1 large lemon)
  • 2 teaspoons salt (more or less, to taste)
  • Hot pepper, optional
  • Freshly grated coconut (unsweetened), optional

Directions:

1.  Debone the chicken; shred or cut into small pieces (I used a food processor to roughly chop the chicken).

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2.  Thinly slice the green onions then add it to the chicken.

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3.  Add the lemon powder, water, salt and pepper to the bowl of chicken; mix to combine.  Taste; adjust seasoning if required.

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4.  Stir in the grated coconut (optional).

5.  Serve with my super easy sweet flour titiyas (see recipe below) and enjoy!

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Annie’s Sweet Flour Titiyas

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Ingredients:

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk (see note below)
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup cream of coconut (the sweet one, used for mixed drinks)
    (see note below)

NOTE:  If you don’t find or have any cream of coconut, just increase the coconut milk to 1 cup, and add 1/2 cup white granulated sugar.  Follow the rest of the instructions below.

 

This is what the can of cream of coconut looks like.  This is incredibly sweet so you do not need to add more sugar.  Cream of Coconut is NOT the same as coconut cream (thick coconut milk).

cream of coconut

Directions:

1.  Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add the coconut milk, melted butter, and cream of coconut (start out with 1/4 cup; increase to a total of 1/2 cup, depending on how humid your day is–more humid means less liquid). Mix together until a dough forms; knead gently to form a smooth ball of dough.

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2.  Break off golf-ball sized pieces. Flour your rolling surface and rolling pin.  Roll out the piece of dough into a flat disc (about 1/8-inch thick). Place the titiyas on a dry skillet; prick all over with a fork to prevent bubbling during the cooking process.

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3.  Pan-fry on a dry skillet over medium-low heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until the bottom begins to turn a golden brown; flip over and cook the other side until it turns a nice golden brown.  For thicker titiyas, cook over low heat for 4-5 minutes on each side; the titiyas is done when you gently press down on the center and it feels somewhat firm to the touch.

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4.  Place cooked titiyas on a plate covered with a clean kitchen towel to keep warm.  Serve with my delicious chicken kelaguen.  Enjoy!

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Lumpia

Lumpia is a staple at most Chamorro gatherings.  There are fried and fresh versions, both of which are extremely popular.

There are so many variations to the types of filling you can use.  I’ve used ground beef with vegetables, ground pork with vegetables, added noodles and diced potatoes to the mix, used shrimp (especially when making fresh lumpia), and for dessert, banana-brown sugar lumpia (or Turon).

Lumpia is delicious eaten as-is, without some type of dipping sauce.  But while I’m on the subject, let’s talk about some of my favorite lumpia dipping sauces: garlic-vinegar, garlic-lime-sugar-fish sauce (don’t knock this one until you try it), sweet and sour, and the ultimate Chamorro favorite–fina’denne’.

No matter what your filling or dipping sauce, this is sure to be a crowd-pleaser at your next gathering.

Click on the photos below for my recipe and step-by-step instructions for making Fried Meat-and-Vegetable Lumpia.

lumpia 1

lumpia 2

lumpia 3

lumpia 4

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Latiya

Pronounced ‘la-tee-ja’, this is a classic Chamorro dessert.  A light, creamy, custard-like pudding topped with a generous sprinkling of ground cinnamon tops a layer of scrumptious cake.  I say ‘custard-like’ only because my version of Latiya contains NO eggs, unlike most of the variations of this recipe.

The cake options are endless, but my favorite, by far, is carrot cake, and not just any carrot cake, mind you, but a moist rich version made with carrots (of course), pineapples, raisins, and lots and lots of nuts!

Pound cake is another favorite for this, as is another classic Chamorro dessert:  Chamorro Cake.

The key to assembling this oh-so-yummy dessert is to put lots of space between the pieces of cake.  This way, you can pour the creamy latiya topping in between the nooks and crannies.  Oh, I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Here’s my recipe for “classic” latiya…give it a try.  I think you’ll like it!  🙂

If you are a coconut-lover like me, scroll on down for my coconut version of my latiya recipe.

Latiya

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The photo below contains my recipe for “regular” Latiya.  Click on the thumbnail below to open a full-sized version of the photo to view my recipe.

Latiya

 

Drumroll please…..and now for my Coconut Latiya Recipe.  You don’t want to miss out on this one.

Annie’s Coconut Latiya:

Latiya

Ingredients:

  • 1 Sara Lee pound cake (I use the smaller one and slice it about the width of my thumb)
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 1 can water (use milk can)
  • 2 cans coconut milk
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
  • 8 HEAPING teaspoons corn starch
  • Cinnamon

Directions:

  1. In a medium pan, combine the evaporated and coconut milk (reserve the can of water), butter, sugar, vanilla and coconut flakes. Cook over medium heat.
  2. Mix the cornstarch with the can of water. When the butter has melted, add the cornstarch/water mixture.
  3. Stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture comes to a boil; continue cooking for about a minute longer then immediately pour over pound cake.
  4. Sprinkle the top of the latiya with cinnamon then allow to cool.
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Rosketti ~ a Chamorro cookie

I won’t lie to you…you WILL need to have a tall glass of milk or water when you eat these starchy Chamorro cookies.  It calls for an entire container of corn starch after all, but despite all that starch, this is a melt-in-your mouth cookie you won’t want to miss out on.

As a little girl, I remember going to rosaries just so that I can have some of these yummy cookies.  I’d CAREFULLY (they crumble easily) wrap a couple of them in a napkin to bring home for later.

Nowadays, you’d expect to pay a good chunk of change to buy some ready-made for you.  I used to love receiving the occasional care package with a Crab Biscuit can inside.  That was the telltale sign, the can, for it wasn’t biscuits inside, but Rosketti, carefully packed so as not to break any.  But even if they did break, I didn’t dare throw any crumbs away!  Oh no!  I’d scoop those little bits up and eat them with a spoon, it was like gold to me!

But that was about oh, maybe 25 years ago.  I’ve since learned to make these crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth delights myself.

Since I originally posted this several years ago, I’ve since learned a bit about the origin of the name of this cookie.  This information is from the Guam Hispanic Heritage Facebook page:

“The ROSKAS of Guam. In many countries in the Hispanic world, on the Day of the Three Kings it is customary to serve a ring shaped sweet bread called ROSCA DE REYES. It is believed that in Guam, common Chamorro treats such as ROSKETI, BOÑELUS ROSKAS (commonly known as “yeast donuts”), and ROSKU shortbread were created as a simpler form of the traditional Spanish ROSCA. In Chamorro the word ROSKA refers to a ring or coil shape. ROSKETI and ROSKU are variants that carry the same meaning. The meaning and use of the word ROSKA seems to have been forgotten. And has resulted in ROSKETI being made other shapes in which they can’t truly be called ROSKETI.”

(Original post:  https://www.facebook.com/320261928099151/posts/1820010198124309/?extid=0&d=n)

Additionally, the owner of the Facebook page suggested that a more historically accurate name for what I have pictured below is “monedas” which means “coins.”

Well, whatever you choose to call it, it’ll be delicious regardless. 😁

Give my recipe a try, but have that glass of milk handy.  Enjoy!  🙂

Click on each thumbnail below to open up a full-sized photo.

Rosketti 1

Rosketti 2

Rosketti 3

Rosketti 4

These are so fun to make with a cookie spritzer.  Oh, the fun shapes you can make!

ENJOY! 🙂

Rosketti

 

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