Kelaguen facts for kids
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Kelaguen with titiyas
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| Place of origin | Mariana Islands |
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| Main ingredients | pickling marinade of lemon juice, fresh coconut, green onions, salt and spicy hot peppers |
Kelaguen is a special dish from the Mariana Islands, made by the Chamorro people. It's often eaten as a side dish, like a salad, or sometimes as the main meal. It's a bit like ceviche, another dish where food is "cooked" without heat.
Contents
What is Kelaguen?
Kelaguen is made by marinating (soaking) different kinds of food in a special mix. This mix includes lemon juice, fresh coconut, green onions, salt, and spicy hot peppers (sometimes called donni in Chamorro).
You can make Kelaguen with many ingredients, such as cooked chicken, raw shrimp, fish, or beef meat and liver.
The "Cooking" Magic
What makes Kelaguen unique is how it "cooks" some of its ingredients. For raw shrimp, fish, or beef, the strong acids in the lemon juice actually change the food, making it firm and safe to eat, just like heat would. This means you don't need to use a stove or oven for these ingredients! Cooked chicken, of course, is already cooked before it's added to the marinade.
How Do People Eat Kelaguen?
Kelaguen is usually served cold or at room temperature. You can eat it by itself, or you can enjoy it over rice. Many people also like to wrap it in a warm corn or flour tortilla. The Chamorro people have their own delicious version of a tortilla called titiyas.
Where Did Kelaguen Come From?
The idea for Kelaguen came from a Filipino dish called kilawin. This happened a long time ago when both the Mariana Islands and the Philippines were part of the Spanish East Indies. Over time, Kelaguen also got some ideas from Latin American ceviche, making it a unique mix of different food traditions.
