The Northern Mariana Islands is located in the continent of Oceania. It has the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Marshall Islands to the far east, the Federation States of Micronesia to the south, Guam to the far southwest, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and northwest.
The Seat of Government is Saipan.
The official languages are Chamorro, Carolinian, and English.
The climate is tropical with temperatures ranging from 79 to 82 degrees F. Heavy rains and typhoons are common.
The staple foods are fish, shrimp, crab, coconut milk, onions, peppers, coconut, vegetables and so much more (https://usadiscoveryprogram.com/experience/cuisine-northern-mariana-islands).
https://www.britannica.com/place/Northern-Mariana-Islands
NOEL QUITUGUA’S COCONUT SHRIMP KELAGUEN (https://www.saipantribune.com/index.php/a445a12d-1dfb-11e4-aedf-250bc8c9958e/):
- 2 packs of fresh/frozen shrimp
- 2-4 coconuts
- 4 stems green onions
- 5 stems chives
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 cucumber
- 5 red radishes
- 1 medium size carrot
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 purple cabbage
- Crushed hot pepper, sweet onion (optional)
- 2 lemons
- Defrost shrimps, peel, slice in half, place in bowl, squeeze lemons, add 1 tsp salt, stir and let sit for five minutes until lemon juice soaks in.
- Husk then grate at 3-4 coconuts (ma’son) coconuts to make 1 lb. chunky coconut meat.
- Dice stems of the green onions, but only the white part or above the root to midsection.
- Dice stems of chives.
- Slice yellow bell pepper into about the size of toothpicks and use only half of it.
- Slice cucumber in half, then into thin diagonal shapes.
- Slice ¼ of the purple cabbage.
- Peel carrot, shred it then squeeze juice out.
- Shred radish.
- Mix all sliced and diced green onions, chives, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, sliced purple cabbage, shredded carrot, shredded radish and the chunky coconut meat inside the lemon-soaked shrimps and stir everything until thoroughly mixed together.
- Store in the refrigerator for about 10 to 15 minutes then serve chilled.
Here is how my Coconut Shrimp Kelaguen turned out. The flavors were sssooo good!!
BROWN RICE:
GUYURIA (Chamorro Jawbreaker Cookies) (https://www.dadwithapan.com/guyuria-chamorro-jawbreaker-cookies/):
Cookie Dough:
- 2 C white flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter
- 13 fl. oz. coconut milk
- Start with about 1-1/2 C flour and mix with the salt and sugar.
- Cube the butter, then add to the flour mixture.
- Pour in the coconut milk and begin mixing together.
- You want to get the dough to a pizza dough consistency.
- Begin kneading more flour in until you get a firm dough (I ended up using close to 2 C of flour total).
- Let the dough rest in the fridge while you heat up oil in a cast iron skillet or pot to 350F.
- Roll the dough into little balls. It helps to have a little coating of flour on your hands while rolling so the dough doesn’t stick.
- To mold the cookie, take a ball of dough, and place on the back of a fork.
- Roll the dough off the force starting and the base of the fork. If you screw up don’t worry just re-mold and try again, you’ll get the hang of it!
- In batches, begin adding the cookies to the pan to begin frying.
- Fry until golden brown, should take about 7-10 minutes per batch.
- With a straining spoon remove the cookies from the oil.
- Let sit on paper towels.
Syrup:
- 1 C white sugar
- 1 C water
- During the last batch of cookies, bring your sugar and water for the syrup to a boil. Once boiling, continue to boil this down for about 5 minutes. Let cool.
- Place your cookies in a large mixing bowl and pour a little of the syrup in the bowl, about 1/8 cup.
- Toss until evenly coated. You’ll probably need to add another 1/8 C and toss and repeat until it’s evenly spread.
- Add some sugar, or even cinnamon sugar on top and toss.
- Place on some wax paper and let sit for about 10 minutes.
- Enjoy!!
Topping (optional): 1 TBSP sugar
I used whole where flour, and sugar substitute, and everything still turned out VERY good!!
Travel Global Food 