pronounced ti-tee-zas. what can i say chamorro month has put me on a nostalgic chamorro-foodkick.  i went to a friend's house for a birthday party and then impulsively bought corn flour at the grocery store.  this led me to this week's adventures in tityas.

there are droves of versions out there and this week i took the liberty of experimenting with titiyas, the guam version of tortillas.  they are not quite a tortilla but more of thin flat bread.  the plain version is traditionally made with all purpose flour and coconut mlik.  there is also a sweeter variation traditionally made with fresh shreds of young coconut.  a friend had tipped me into using actual tortilla flour (specifically, the white flour version called harina preparada) but this week i also explored a gluten-free option by using corn flour, or masa harina, found in the hispanic food aisle. both are available at walmart.  a tortilla press would make the job easier but i found that forming balls of dough and then flattening with a rolling pin between two sheets of parchment paper to be just as effective.  this could also create a larger size, rather than the size of an 8" tortilla press.  titiyas are delectable lathered with butter but are most often served with the ever-popular chicken kelaguen, a recipe fit for it's own entry.

recipe:
2 1/2 cups flour of your choice
1 cup cream of coconut (trader joe's has an excellent canned product)

for manha titiyas, add
2 tablespoons coconut strings (macapuno, from a can)

1. Combine ingredients to form a firm dough
2. Press to preferred size until as thick as pancake
3. Heat generous amount of butter on a flat pan or gridle pan over medium high heat
4. When the flattened dough is ready, dust with flour before putting on the heated pan
5. Glide the titiya around the pan until it absorbs the butter
6. Leave unturned until browning bubbles form
7. Turnover to cook the other side

i really did not feel a need to add sugar or milk as many other recipes have suggested.  the gluten-free option was my preferred choice because it provided the best balanced flavor.  when i was working a summer job at 16, my chamorro coworkers would bring spam kelaguen and corned beef simmered in onions as a comfort-food snack.  this always reminds me of that.

there is not flat bread equivalent in filipino food that i can think of.  we were instead raised on pan de sal as our poor man's bread.  titiyas are the easiest staple to make and the added ingredient of cream of coconut gives it the perfect richness.

march is chamorro month.  it is the month we commemorate guam's discovery day on the first monday in march, among other notable dates in honoring our native people.  growing up it used to be a week-long celebration that culminated into the university of guam's charter day celebration... but now it has evolved into a month's long array of festivities.

it was a yearly ritual throughout all my years in school - we dressed up in island attire, hosted visiting artisans and woven crafts, and binged on coconut candy and bunelos aga (banana fritters)!  the best part was singing along to live performances by jesse bias. one quick sidebar: i also learned all my catholic schoolgirl prayers in chamorro and to this very day...i can still recite most of the our father and hail mary.

my parents worked for the government of guam where we were easily integrated into all the local splendor!...especially the food.  it was the one true commonality that was obvious to me: that filipino food and chamorro dishes were frequently one in the same. a distinct difference for me is that i could actually speak tagalog fluently and foolishly made the assumption that I could one day speak the local language. having been born and raised in guam, i do identify myself as a guamanian moreso than filipino.  beyond the food, the brown skin, the spanish colonial influence there is that deep-rooted pride of where i am from rather than who i am. 

i hope to have a followup entry attempting to make coconut candy.  i very clearly remember the curly-haired and burly custodian lady, slaving under the unforgiving sun with beads of sweat threatening to drip into that batter she worked with just her hands. before winchell's donuts were the staple, these were the donuts i craved.  it meant frequent and laborious a trips to the neighborhood mobil gas station by bike and me barely making it home before that grease-infested, slimy little sandwich bag was emptied. i'm also including the recipe for maruya, the filipino version of banana fritters.  they are more pancake-like but the result is just as satisfying. the donut tree at the julalale shopping center in hagatna would be the place to get hot and fresh maruya.

bunuelos aga recipe:

2 bananas

2 eggs

2 c flour

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1. Mash all the ingredients together into a sticky dough

2. Deep fry over medium-high heat.

3. Drop equal portions into the batter until the dollops turn into quasi-ball shapes.

4. Very important!: remove from fryer as soon as they turn dark brown and fluffy. 

The longer you keep them in they become like sponges holding in the oil.

Traditionally these are dipped in maple syrup but I prefer them dusted with powdered sugar.

maruya recipe:

2 bananas

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Mash ingredients together and pour batter into a shallow frying pan (not deep fried!) of medium heat, similar to that of an omelette.  

2. Roll over fine baker's sugar and serve.

as you can see maruya is so much simpler but both are great ways to make use of those ripening bananas !

i've also been meaning to try either with rice flour and coconut milk as a gluten-free option.  

the spread: bbq, red rice, fiinadene!

it is a very warm winter in northern california. while the midwest and east coast are in a frozen tundra, we are walking around in open-toe shoes much too early! so i immediately think of barbecue season when warm weather hits.

when locals speak of "barbecue" , this confuses many white people.  unlike "american" bbq that is smoked, smothered, and grilled with barbecue sauce - filipino and chamorro barbecue is actually just marinated and grilled.  it is a very low maintenance approach to enjoying meat.  the ritual is usually to marinate meat for hours, then unwind and grill until it's time to eat and beyond. when calling people over for barbecue, it is implied that you are going to hang out around that grill.  the nice part about this marinade is that you can use any meat and marinate it for as long as you want. barbecue is most especially "special" when served with red rice and finadene.  it is the staple of every party. there are no measurements to this recipe because you can add or reduce to your liking!

RECIPE

Soy sauce

Sliced onions

Lemons

Vinegar

Beer

and now the kicker: if you want to make "filipino" barbecue, simply add banana ketchup (or brown sugar and ketchup) and maggi seasoning (found at the filipino grocery - a small bottle of "maggic seasoning" is like some proprietary soy sauce with a filipino twist (probably garlic and calamansi).  us filipinos like our barbecue on the sweet side. i think we are just "white-washed" in that sense. a lot of popular filipino dishes you'll find incorporate western ingredients such as ketchup, hot dogs, and peanut butter! Filipinos also perfected the quintessential meat-on-a-stick (chicken-on-a-stick) method. use marinated cubed chicken or pork and skewer onto a stick for grilling (no veggies, just meat!) . for any filipino variation, reserve the marinade for basting while grilling.

and just because i used to obsess over the barbecue variations back home, i loved eating at proa or jamaican grill when i was living in guam. as blasphemous as it sounds, for knock-off versions: i add cumin and red wine for a proa version and cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice for that jamaican grill twist!

The spread: corn soup with crab and coconut milk. Serve with biscuits or in a bread bowl.

how fitting it is to be immersed in home-inspired cooking at the pinnacle of the lenten season. guam's local population is almost entirely catholic.  this meant abstaining from meat every friday of the 40 days before easter and on the very first day of lent, ash wednesday.

surrounded by miles of endless ocean did not mean seafood was readily available for coking.  tilapia tuna, and parrot fish were some of the local staples but shrimp, salmon, and crab were actually expensive and usually imported from the Philippines.

many local dishes will have coconut milk and corn soup is that ultimate comfort food that brings to mind Church fundraisers and nights at rosaries eating it out of the very basic white styrofoam cup.  it is winter right now so soup is the perfect note to stay warm.  this version is a bit modified because i prefer to build the flavors with a roux before adding the chicken stock.

RECIPE

1 can creamed corn

1 bag frozen corn

1 can coconut milk

3 cups chicken stock 

1 cup shredded crab meat

1 cup sliced scallion

Equal parts flour and butter to create a roux.

Garlic, onion, salt pepper to taste.

1. Heat a stock pot and melt butter.  Incorporate equal amount of flour to form a doughy paste. Remove from heat when it smells like a burnt sugar cookie. Set aside.

2. Sautée garlic, onions, and frozen corn.

3. Add chicken stock and bring to a low boil over medium heat.

4. Slowly add crumbled portions of the roux and use a whisk to dissolve the roux into the stock. This will form a creamy broth.

5. Add the crab, coconut milk, and creamed corn and simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Season with Salt and pepper and garnish with scallions before serving.

*Shrimp and or shredded chicken breasts can also be added for added depth.

The spread: fried chicken, finadene, and red rice.  All three such staples of indulgent, gluttony-ridden ingesting. 

In grade school, this trio of goodness was only served on Fridays.  And the T.hank-G.od-It's-FriedChicken was a glorious meal that automatically meant you'd be inhaling it all and lining up for seconds.  These recipes come from a blend of sources that are improbable when cooking a meal.  

RED RICE:  My dad's red rice.  I understand that there are probably one hundred ways to make red rice ( or fried chicken or findadene) and those one hundred ways are probably all correct but the result could only be as close to perfection when done in the way my Dad taught me.  But a disclaimer - I've once been scolded by full-blooded Chamorros about certain aspects of it.  Namely: that red rice should only be made with short grain rice and with achote seeds.  I just don't cook with short grain rice at all.  I love the fluffy and slightly-sticky fragrant grains of jasmine rice. I have no qualms about how beautifully it's natural aroma blends well with achote.  Aaaaand the achote (or achiote): in it's natural state it is a seed pod that looks much like a cotton pod.  The tiny seeds are traditionally soaked in water until a thickened red colorant is formed. Well ain't nobody got time for that!  Thank heavens for filipino consumerism and that MamaSita mass-produces lovely packets of it in powdwred form, readily available at any Filipino-food-grocery aisle! This is me embracing the filipino influence on the way this dish is prepared: support MamaSita! During my dad's recent visit to California, he shared with me another nuance he discovered: dissolving the achote powder in olive oil or canola oil before mixing with the boiling rice will produce an even richer color. Trust me: Orange rice is no bueno! i've once overheard a group of manamko (chamorro word for old people) scowl at a serving of "orange rice".  the most popular additive to red rice out there is, wait for it...BACON. yes on some level i agree that those strips of fatty goodness make everything tastes better. call me a purist or a snob - the smokiness of the bacon steals the show from the achote when done this way.  if you simply can't help yourself you can Sautée half a pack of finely diced bacon with the onions a the beginning of this recipe. many locals will also add frozen peas before the rice sets to steam. i also enjoy this but rarely do it because i'm not a fan of mush on mush,

FRIED CHICKEN: The fried chicken that some would even dare call "Chamorro Fried Chicken" is not actually Chamorro.   There is nothing native about this recipe.  I once dated a dude from a Chamorro catering family.  Catering is probably the most commonly prolific home-based, multi-generational, family business back home so I know this fried chicken recipe is legit. In fact, when it was shared with me, I couldn't believe how simple and un-Chamorro it was.  I tested it for many years and the most amazing part - it is a dry batter that requires no eggs or bowls to prepare!

FINADENE: Lastly, the crowing piece to this ensemble: the finadene.  It is the Chamorro word for dipping sauce.  The most common way of preparing it is soy-sauce based but many don't realize that vinegar is actually the intended dominant flavor.  This concoction that seems so simple is a staple accompaniment for any standalone meat served with rice.  The complexity of flavors when put together can be further developed using my method.  Most will advise to just throw all the ingredients together but I honor a certain sequence. 

One of the most glaring adjustments when I moved Stateside was the fact that I could not order red rice and finadene as a side dish at KFC?! How was I supposed to enjoy my fried chicken? - cook it all myself!  I'm pretty sure this timeless Only-On-Guam trio has attributed a lot of success to the Colonel himself.  

RECIPES

RED RICE:

Uncooked Long grain rice and water in 5:6 part ratio

1 packet of achote powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons cooking oil (use 1 packet for every 5 cups of uncooked rice

1/2 yellow onions, small dice

Salt to taste

1. Sautée onions at medium-high heat until transparent

2. Throw in uncooked rice and salt. Fold until grains are lubricated.

3. Add water and achote oil mixture

4. Stir over highest heat setting and quickly cover tightly with lid until boiling.

5. After 5 minutes uncover and reduce to the lowest heat setting. Use a wooden spoon to stir the rice and scrape any sticky grains from the bottom of the pot.

6. Pat the rice backdown and place a moistened paper between the lid and surface of the rice.

7. Avoid uncovering unless to check if grains are fully cooked.  Allow to fully steam and remove from heat.

FRIED CHICKEN

Chilled and uncooked frying chicken parts

Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste

All purpose flour, enough to coat chicken

A paper bag for shaking

4 tbsp yellow mustard

1. Combine all dry ingredients in paper bag.

2. Coat chicken with yellow mustard and refrigerate for 10-15 mins.

3. Toss chicken in paper bag until well coated and right before frying in heated oil.

4. Deep fry until even browned and no longer bleeding.

FINADENE 

Sliced scallions

Juice of 2 lemons.

Diced white onions

Red pepper flakes

1 part soy sauce for 8 parts vinegar

1. Combine onions and peppers until well coated.

2. Add vinegar and lemon and let marinate for desired flavor.

3. Add soy sauce right before serving.

*Cherry Tomatoes can also be added if serving with fish or pork.  

*Filipinos also use fish sauce in lieu of soy sauce.