Welcome to Micronesia! Micronesia is made up of over 600 islands and are famous for their coral reefs. It was a major battleground during WWII as an American offensive against Japan. In Truk Lagoon in Micronesia, there are over 60 shipwrecks of Japanese warships destroyed by American forces in 1944! Ironically, Micronesia is one of 21 countries that do not have an army. It looks like a stunning place to visit too! According to Google, the population is 114,183 people, and the capital is Palikir. Their national dish is...
Chicken Kelaguen and Breadfruit!
The chicken dish is basically a spicy chicken salad served with a toasted tortilla. Simple enough! To go with the chicken kelaguen, we made breadfruit boiled in coconut milk. We were curious how this would be, since we haven't been a huge fan of breadfruit so far. And since that wasn't enough food (right...) we also made Micronesian chicken coconut curry! We would not go hungry! With all the ingredients ready to go, here is what we did:
CHICKEN KELAGUEN
For the chicken kelaguen
4 boneless chicken thighs
1/2 lb coconut, coarsely grated
3 green onions, finely chopped
4 red and/or green chili peppers
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
4 small tortillas, heated on the grill
For the finadene sauce
Juice of 2 lemons and their zest
3 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 C soy sauce
3 green onions, chopped
3 red and/or green hot peppers
A few cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 12 hours (or more) before eating the finadene sauce, combine all ingredients and refrigerate.
- Marinate the chicken in half the lemon juice and the green onions for 15 minutes.
- Grill the chicken thighs on the barbecue for about 8 minutes on each side.
- Remove the skin and cut into small pieces.
- Mix with coconut, onions, remaining lemon juice, and chilies.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Serve with tortillas.
(Source: Chicken Kelaguen)
BOILED BREADFRUIT IN COCONUT MILK
1 onion, chopped
3 C coconut milk
1/2 breadfruit
Salt, to taste
- Cook the breadfruit according to directions (mine was already cooked and frozen, so I just thawed it).
- Put the coconut milk, salt, and onion in a pot.
- Grab handfuls of the onions and squeeze them. Do this several times - it helps to release the oils.
- Bring the coconut mixture to a boil, and add the breadfruit.
- Boil for 5 minutes, or until the breadfruit is warm through.
- Serve with the coconut sauce and enjoy!
(Source: Boiled Breadfruit in Coconut Milk)
MICRONESIAN CHICKEN COCONUT CURRY
2 lbs chicken, cut to pieces
2 -3 potatoes, big diced
2 -3 carrots, cut into small pieces
1 big red bell pepper, cut into 1x1 cubes
1 big green bell pepper, cut into 1x1 cubes
2 onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
2 C coconut milk
3 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
4 tbsp oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
- In a frying pan, fry the chicken until light brown and set aside.
- Fry potatoes and carrots and set aside.
- In a sauce pan, saute garlic, onions and ginger in oil for 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken, coconut milk, curry powder and chili powder.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add potatoes, carrots, red and green bell peppers and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes or until soft.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
(Source: Micronesian Chicken Coconut Curry)
The verdict? Chicken Kelaguen was very spicy. The finadene sauce was especially spicy. I put the coconut and chilis on the side so people could add what they would like, which ended up being a good idea. I made the mistake of marinating the chicken in lemon juice overnight, which made the chicken's texture strange. If you make this, don't do that! Otherwise, it was just OK. The breadfruit was surprisingly good. We haven't previously had breadfruit that we really enjoy - it just is kind of "blah". But cooking in the onions, salt, and coconut made it creamier and like it had substance. It was quite pleasant to eat. The curry was the hit. This curry was very good, even with the short time to cook it. It was just enough spice, and had wonderful flavor. We'll be making that again!
ME
Taste of Chicken Kelaguen (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 5
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 7
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Chicken Kelaguen (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 4
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 7
ME
Taste of Breadfruit (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Breadfruit (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6
ME
Taste of Micronesian Chicken Coconut Curry (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 8
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 4
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 9
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Micronesian Chicken Coconut Curry (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 8
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 2
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8
Hope you get to join us next time when we go to Armenia!
