Kelaguen Mannok (Chamorro-style Chicken Salad) with Red Rice
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a.k.a. “What am I going to do with all of this leftover chicken?!?!”
Kelaguen is an excellent way to use leftover chicken. It’s a light chicken salad; there’s no heavy mayo holding it together, just lots and lots of lemon juice and green onions. Traditionally, chicken pieces are marinated in soy sauce and cane vinegar, then grilled and chopped. I had a store-bought rotisserie chicken that needed to be used up, so that’s what I used. Thai bird chilis are usually used in kelaguen, but I didn’t have any or hand nor did I feel like going to the store to get some, so I used Serrano chilis instead. Adjust the chili usage to your desired heat level. I tend to like things spicy.
One last super important note – do NOT use sweetened coconut from the baking aisle for this recipe. Fresh shredded coconut is best, but frozen works as well, as long as it is UNSWEETENED.
You’ll need lemons, chicken, unsweetened coconut, sea salt, green onions and chilis.
If you’re using a whole rotisserie chicken, remove the skin, debone and chop the meat.
Chop the green onions. Chop the white onions finely. Slice the chilis thinly.
Juice a whole bunch of lemons, you’ll need about 1/2 cup lemon juice. That’s 5-6 medium lemons.
Add the lemon juice to the chicken.
An important note about the coconut (if you haven’t read the other 4 important notes about this coconut): do not use sweetened coconut for this recipe. It should be unsweetened, grated coconut. Fresh is better, but frozen is fine.
Stir in the green onion, white onion and chilis.
Taste it. Does it need more lemon juice? A bit of salt? More chili? Adjust as needed. There’s no “right” way for this to taste, as long as it tastes good to you!
Tangent: Can we talk about these awesome Charles Viancin bowl covers
Amazing. I love them! Let the kelaguen chill and the flavors marry while you make the rice.
For the rice you’ll need … well, rice, achiote (annatto) powder, onion, garlic, and sea salt.
In a medium sauce pan, add oil and saute onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in the rice…
…and the garlic, water and achiote powder. Cover and simmer on low until liquid has absorbed and rice is tender, about 15 minutes.
Fluff the rice with a fork.
That’s it! Sprinkle a few more chopped green onions on top and enjoy.
It’s the perfect quick summer meal – light and refreshing!
Kelaguen Mannok (Chamorro-style Chicken Salad) with Red Rice
makes 4-6 servings in ~45 minutes
for the chicken
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 – 3/4 cup lemon juice (5-6 lemons)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded (not sweet baking coconut!!)
8 Thai bird chilis (I used 2 Serrano chilis), thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups green onion, chopped
1 small onion, chopped fine
salt, to taste
for the rice
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups white rice (I used short-grain)
3 cups water
1 1/2 tsp achiote (annatto) powder
1/2 tsp salt
Directions
for the chicken
In a medium bowl, combine the cooked, chopped chicken, 1/2 cup of lemon juice and coconut. Stir to combine. Add in chopped green onion, chilis, and white onion. Stir to combine and taste. Add salt, additional lemon juice or chilis to taste. Chill and let the flavors marry while the rice cooks.
for the rice
In a medium saucepan, add in oil and saute onion over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic, rice, water, achiote powder and salt. Stir to combine. Set heat to low, cover pan, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.
Serve the red rice with the kelaguen, garnish with additional chopped green onion and enjoy!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
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