easy chalakiles

i don't really cook many local chamoru dishes at home because there are so many people i know who cook them better than i do, and are quite generous about sharing. the food is generally simple, relying on what is fresh from the land and sea. much of what you'll see in chamoru cuisine is influenced by the early spanish and portuguese explorers and the techniques and some of the ingredients they brought from the americas. one of my favourite dishes is chalakiles, a stew usually made from chicken, toasted ground rice, coconut milk, and coloured with achote, or annatto seed.



i don't really know the origins of this dish. i do know that during world war 2, rice was in short supply, so many dishes were created to extend the amount of rice in a meal; however, i suspect that the origins of this stew go much further, as the flavour and cooking technique is similar to pozole, a pre-columbian stew made from hominy or a lime-treated dried corn kernel known as maiz blanco, pork, and chili. in fact, the story goes that pozole was created in honour of the arrival of the conquistadores at tonalá, mexico by their queen, cihualpilli. cihualpilli, chalakiles...similar ring to it, no? well, whatever, that might be a stretch. (and the stuff they served to the spaniards? that was long pig, not regular pig in there.)

anyway. many people won't make chalakiles because they believe you still have to toast the rice grains and then grind them down, which can be quite tedious; also, because stewing chicken is often used, and it takes several hours to cook it until it's tender. the version i make was borne from the fact that our family roasts a lot of turkeys (maybe once or twice a month)--since i cook the bird in one of those roasting bags, i often have quite a lot of roasting juices and meat left on the carcass which would otherwise go to waste. it's a good way to make use of any poultry carcass you may have on hand, and economical--aside from the achote, it is very much a 'make something out of nothing' sort of dish. since time is always a problem, this is another one of my crock pot/slow cooker specialties; just bung all the ingredients in the pot, and dinner's done. also, instead of going through the rigamarole of toasting and grinding rice, i just use cream of rice cereal, and toast it in the microwave. really. it works. the flavours are mild but the dish itself is hearty--it's a nice mix of meaty broth, nutty rice, and sweet coconut, along with the other mellowed out spices.


crockpot chalakiles

roasted turkey or chicken carcass, with some meat still on the bones
water, stock or roast juices, enough to cover the bones

1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 chili peppers, chopped finely
1/2 cup of achote water (made by soaking achote seeds in water) or liquid achote, as needed (i use liquid, obvs)

1 cup cream of rice

1 can coconut milk

place the carcass into a crock pot, and cover with liquid of choice. let simmer until the meat comes off the bone. carefully remove all the bones from the pot, leaving the meat and liquid. add the onion, garlic, chilis, and achote water to the pot, and cover.

place the cream of rice in a dry pan, and toast over medium-high heat or place it in a microwave safe container (i suggest using a pyrex-type measuring cup). heat on high for 5-6 minutes. carefully remove the container with oven-proof mitts and swirl it gently; as the rice separates and dries out, it will begin to brown. continue swirling until it is uniformly toasty brown. leave to cool.

once the rice has cooled (don't add it hot! believe me, it's not fun), add it carefully to the pot, and cover. leave the crockpot on low, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and has softened (1-2 hours). prior to serving, add the coconut milk, and allow the mixture to warm through.