Kind of Kelaguen and Fast Finadene

The first dish that comes to mind when I think about Chamorro style dishes is Kelaguen, specifically Kelaguen Manok, the chicken version of the dish which is what you'll find in all the Chamorro/Guamanian restaurants in the greater San Diego area. After making the drive up to Guahan Grill a couple of times early last year with the Missus, She asked if I could just go ahead and try and make the stuff already.

So I did....after a couple of tries, I had it kind of dialed in. The Missus has a couple of coworkers who are from Guam and they make Kelaguen a lot....mostly using leftover rotisserie chicken and...ick, boiled chicken! After trying things a few different ways; I've settled on boneless, skin on chicken "legs", actually quarters, grilled over hard wood charcoal. Again, this is "kind of Kelaguen"...... I noticed that versions I've had here in San Diego lacked coconut. My solution was to use organic, non-sweetened coconut flakes and a tablespoon or so of coconut oil, which adds to the moisture, and provides for a nice fragrance. I use skin on chicken because it tends to preserve the moisture of the meat.

Even with all of this; I noticed that I could not get the lemon flavor dialed in; it just never came out the way I wanted. That's when one of the Missus's co-workers told Her that everybody "back home" uses "Yours Lemon Flavored Powder"! Which I wasn't able to find here, but you gotta love it; I actually found it on Amazon. I was a bit dubious about this stuff...looking at the label, "Ingredients: Citric Acid (Trehalose), Natural Lemon Flavor, L-Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Sodium Citrate. Made in Japan." Hmmm......

But in the end, this is what I needed to make the Kelaguen taste right.

At the same time, I was trying to put together the classic sauce/condiment for the kelaguen; Finadene (Fina'denne). After going thru a couple of iterations, I found that rather strangely, since I've said not to use said shoyu for sauces; Kikkoman actually worked the best for me. Along with Distilled White Vinegar and one other item to give it just a bit more umph; Spiced Sukang Maasim (cane vinegar). The slight spice and sour gave it a nice kick. As for the chilies....I've used everything from Chili de Arbol, Thai Chilies, Red Habaneros, Scorpion Peppers, to Ghost Peppers......it's all good! Actually the Missus is partial to white ghost peppers.

So now the Missus's Guamanian coworkers actually request that I make this; so I guess it's got their seal of approval.

The Missus really likes to saturate Her Kelaguen with Finadene. And I've actually used the Finadene in other dishes....even stir fried bean sprouts which come out like namul on jet fuel.

Kind of Kelaguen:

The Chicken
1 1/2 lbs of skin-on boneless chicken quarters
salt
black pepper
granulated garlic
one lemon sliced in half
ghost pepper salt (optional)

- Season the meat side of the chicken with salts and black pepper
- Season the skin side of the chicken with salts, black pepper, and granulated garlic
- Grill over charcoal. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the chicken while grilling
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

1 Tb coconut oil
1-2 Tb shredded coconut
2-3 stalks scallions sliced
1 Tb Yours Lemon Flavored Powder diluted into 2 Tb water
salt, black pepper, and sliced chilies to taste

-Remove the chicken from the bowl reserving the juices; the objective is to conserve all the flavor you can.
- Remove the skin from the chicken and consume later....it tastes really good fried up.
- Chop or mince the chicken to your desired texture and add back to the bowl with the juices from the chicken
- Add coconut oil, coconut, scallions, and chilies and mix
- Add the lemon flavoring mixing well.
- Season with Salt and Pepper to taste.

I'm going to give you what I started with when I decided on my final array of ingredients for the Finadene. Think of this as being a 1:1 ratio of soy sauce to vinegar. I think it's a good starting point. You can adjust to your taste from here. Actually, you might like to add some calamansi juice to replace some of the vinegar.

Fast Finadene:
1/2 cup of Kikkoman Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Distilled White Vinegar
2 Tb Spiced Sukang Maasim
2 stalks of scallions sliced
1 small sweet onion thinly sliced
sliced chilies to taste

-Combine ingredients. Taste and adjust flavor as desired.

Enjoy!

Comments

[kat]

nice adaptions!

[G.]

My mom is Guamanian and she would kill me if I ever used anything but freshly grated coconut (cracked and grated that day!) and fresh lemon juice in my Kelaguen. Don't tell her this, but I like the idea of your shortcuts. ;)

As for Finadene, mom's is the best (I'm sure everyone with Chamorro blood running through their veins says that) but sometimes my mom adds halved cherry tomatoes to hers and I really like that. Give it a try sometime! :)

[Kirk]

I had to make due Kat!

Hi G - Funny thing; it was the Guamanians who told the Missus their parents and relatives use Your Lemon Powder in Guam. Hard to come by nice fresh coconuts here in San Diego......and none of the restaurant versions have any in it, so I thought I'd improvise a bit.

[nhb]

Interesting dish.

[Kirk]

It's actually pretty good Billy....the Missus really likes it.

[G.]

I hear ya on the challenge to find good coconuts here in SD! I remember one of the Guamaniam restaurants (maybe Chamorro Grill...can't remember off hand) telling me once that the reason they don't put coconut in their Kelaguen is because it spoils faster. That makes sense, I guess. But Kelaguen gets eaten so quickly in our house that I've never had a chance to put that theory to the test. Haha.

[Kirk]

One batch of Kelaguen lasts about 3 meals for the Missus G.

[Joe]

Good on you for grilling the chicken. I call rotisserie kelaguen, lazy kelaguen. You can even roast it in the oven for better flavor. Or even El Pollo Loco chicken works if you can't grill it. Fresh coconuts are easily found in most supermarkets now. It's true that kelaguen with coconut spoils faster, if you use the frozen grated coconut found in ranch 99's, it'll spoil even faster.

[Kirk]

Hi Joe - You know; I don't think I can use up all that coconut. I only make a pound and a half batches of this stuff.

[Joe]

Kirk-well, I really only make big batches, but if I do have some leftover grated coconut, I freeze them and it still tastes the same for the next batch. Not sure if you tried yet, but try shrimp kelaguen. You'll love that. Buy a frozen bag of peeled/deveined uncooked shrimp, defrost, cut it up, lemon juice, lemon powder, grated coconut, and peppers. Put that over steamed rice.