Book review courtesy of reviewthebook.com.
Paula Ann Lujan Quinene (Author)
ISBN: 0-7414-3368-0 ©2006
Price: $19.95
Book Size: 8" x 8" , 111 pages
Category/Subject: COOKING / Regional & Ethnic / General
A Taste of Guam features delicious recipes from Guam as well as American and international selections: Chamorro BBQ, Other Island Favorites, Guam Desserts, Mix of America, and Treasure Chest of Sweets.
Review:
I had no idea what traditional food in Guam until I received this cookbook to review. In fact we ended up having a "Guam meal." For the purpose of this review I chose three dishes to try.
One of the dishes was "Red Rice" and used achote seeds. I had never heard of achote seeds before and I wasn't sure if I could get them but after a quick trip to a local whole foods market I was well on my way. The rice was delicious and the achote seeds, to my surprise, created a wonderful dark orange color. Of course the bacon drippings added that special, home-cooked taste.
The second dish I tried was "Golai Appan Aga" because we love plantains. What a wonderful treat. Cooking the plantains in coconut milk brought out the flavor and of course the touch of cinnamon added a pleasant flare.
The third dish I made was "Chicken Kelaguen." The original recipe called for 16 cups of chopped chicken but I chose to cut the recipe in half. It was just going to be too much for two people. The dish was tasty, a bit on the tart side because of the lemon, however it seemed the coconut gave it a good balance. And, we enjoyed the left-overs the next day.
I've decided I really like the unique taste of traditional dishes of Guam. Paula A. Lujan Quinene preserves her heritage by sharing her proven taste-tested recipes with us. I will be trying out some of the other recipes because I find them easy and most ingredients can be found in any pantry.