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Micronesia

Micronesia is a federation of small islands that includes Guam, Wake Island, Marshall Island and a few others.

There doesn't appear to be a distinctly "Micronesian Cuisine" but there are some notable dishes from the individual islands. I chose Chicken Kelaguen which comes to us from Guam.  The dish is found anywhere you can find Guamanians, they love it and I do too.

To be classified as "authentic" one must make the finadene marinade and BBQ the chicken after it has marinated overnight. (Some sources say to use a store bought rotisserie chicken and recommended Costco.--Yeah, I love that chicken too, but last time I checked, there were no Costcos in Micronesia.)

Finadene
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup lemon juice
1 bunch of green onions (chopped)
5 hot red peppers (I used dried peppers)

Chicken Kelaguen
Naan bread (lightly grilled)
1 whole chicken
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 coconut
1 bunch green onions (chopped)
5 hot red peppers (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Marinade the chicken in the finadene overnight. Then grill until done. Next, shred all chicken, including the skin, and place in a large bowl.

Break open the coconut and discard the liquid inside. Cut out the flesh and shred it. Pour 1.5 cups of warm water on the shredded coconut. Squeeze the coconut shreds to release the milk. Pour the milk and the shreds over the chicken.

Mix the chicken, green onions, peppers, lemon juice, salt and pepper and set aside for 15 minutes.

Serve the chicken on the naan.

Rating: 9 out of 10
"Wanna go to Guam?" --Heidi
"Absolutely!" --Tony
 This dish was bright and light. It was especially good after the naan had soaked up the juices from the Kelaguen. Definitely made the list of do-overs.

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Manav kaushik said…
Pihlohlo mwehng is a National Dish of Micronesia . This traditional dish consists of taro root coated with coconut sap syrup. The dish is made with a mixture of boiled and ground taro root, starch, and sugar. The taro mixture is then formed into oblong-shaped pieces that are added to a pot of caramelized coconut sap syrup and thoroughly coated with it. Typical of Mwoakilloa, this specialty uses mwehng, which is a variety of hard or swamp taro roots traditionally harvested by women.
April 8, 2021 at 4:53 AM
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