Chicken Kelaguen
This is the most unusual chicken dish I've ever seen. I learned to make this while I was living on Guam. Unfortunately, it has been a long time since I've made it.The Marinade
This stuff is called "finidini." (Four syllables, not two, with short vowels.) Mix a cup of soy sauce with a cup of lemon juice (lime juice or a good vinegar will also do). Add a large, finely chopped onion and an equal volume of fresh, hot red peppers. Let this sit for a few days in your refrigerator.Finidini is wonderful. It is good for marinating meat, making pickles, or just as a sauce at the table.
The Chicken
Marinate a the equivalent of a whole chicken (one fryer, or an equivalent weight of chicken parts) in finidini overnight. Grill the chicken until it is just done, basting frequently with finidini. Do not overcook! (This works very well in a clay pot type of grill.) When the chicken cools, bone and shred it, and store in the refrigerator.The Coconut
Get a very fresh coconut--there should be lots of liquid sloshing inside. Open the coconut and discard the liquid. Grate the entire coconut. (In the U.S., the easiest way to do this would probably be to break the coconut out of the shell and into chunks, then use a food processor to do the grating.)When the coconut is grated, pick it up in handfuls, and squeeze each handful over a bowl. A thick white liquid will squeeze out of the coconut meat; this is the real coconut milk. When you have milked all the coconut, mix the milk with an equal amount of lemon juice, then cover and chill.
Mixing the Kelaguen
Finely chop three or four green onions, and also a small handful of fresh, hot red peppers. Mix the onion, peppers, coconut, and chicken. Pour the coconut milk and lemon juice slowly into the mixture, stirring well.On Guam, chicken kelaguen is served on tortillas made with the seeds of a local palm tree. The closest equivalent available in the U.S. would be pita bread, rather than Mexican tortillas.
What to Serve with Chicken Kelaguen
Red Rice
This is another tradition from Guam, and again it requires local produce. You can achieve the same thing by adding a teaspoon or two of paprika to the water in which you cook your rice. If your rice comes out rather orange, then you have Red Rice. Serve with finidini on the side.Beans and Fish
On Guam, this would be fresh green beans mixed with small fresh fish that have been marinated in finidini, but not cooked. You can make an approximation of this dish using one part sardines to two parts green beans.Pancit
This is a traditional Filipino dish, much like Chinese lo mein, with vegetables, a hint of meat (usually pork), and fresh egg noodles.
