Fina'Denne

Sangan i guaguan (Speak what is valuable)

-- Chamorran proverb

The Chamorro people have inhabited what are now known as the Marianas islands for thousands of years. Those islands are currently divided politically between Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, both of which are part of the United States. Yet, most of those who live in the continental United States probably have never heard of the Chamorro, let alone know of their history, their culture, and their perspectives. 

I have known about the Chamorro people, although I have to admit that, until recently, I knew very little about them other than where they lived. It was my search for hot sauces to make that opened a door into learning more about the Chamorro people. And, this post serves as an opportunity for me to speak what is valuable.

The Chamorro people are believed to have come to the Mariana Islands from what is now known as the Philippines or Indonesia. At their height, there was believed to have been anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 Chamorro living on the islands ... until Spanish colonialism arrived. Disease and violence reduced the numbers of Chamorro to as little as 1,000, who were forcibly relocated to Guam. After the Spanish, others ruled over the islands, including the Germans, Japanese and ultimately, the Americans, who have controlled Guam since 1899 (as a result of the Treaty of Paris) and the Northern Mariana Islands since the end of World War II. Today, there are over 160,000 people who identify as Chamorro. 

As one would expect a history of colonization would leave imprints upon modern day Chamorro culture and cuisine. Those prints reflect influences from Spanish, Filipino, Japanese and American cultures. Yet, there remains something uniquely Chamorro - inafa'maolek or "doing good for each other." This concept reflects six traditional values: (1) respectu, respect for the elderly and other significant individuals within the family and community; (2) manginge, an expression of respect for elders or person so authority; (3) mamahlao, to be shamefaced, embarassed or ashamed; (4) chenchule, to give or donate without relationship to any event; (5) che'lu, relationships with siblings; and (6) patgon, valuing children and acknowledging that raising them is everyone's responsibility. Taken together, these values recognize the interdependence and respect of every part of society, from young and old. Values like these build communities, developing and reinforcing the bonds between one another. 

Yet, there is also a less positive aspect: where one does not contribute according to their means or ability, then they should expect resistance to that person. Take, for instance, the United States' occupation and control of much of where the Chamorro live, namely those Marianas islands. Inafa'maolek provides the conceptual framework through which resistance to the U.S. presence in Guam. When the Chamorro believed that the U.S. was not fulfilling its duties and responsibilities to their community, then political resistance, such as in the 1970s with respect to the U.S. presence in Guam and elsewhere, became the means by which the Chamorro could seek to restore the balance within the community.  

Source: Paleric

These are principles that have helped the Chamorro overcome collective challenges, and they can serve as valuable lessons for others. An important starting point for further exploration into Chamorro cuisine and culture. 

As part of this journey, I prepared Fina'Denne, which is a very spicy condiment that is a staple of Chamorro cuisine. It reflects foreign influences, with the use of soy sauce and chiles. (Indeed, Fina'Denne translates to "made with chile pepper"). Yet, this dish predates the Spanish. The earliest versions were simple preparations using salt and pepper. The Spanish introduced vinegar, which the Japanese later supplanted with soy sauce. Other ingredients, such as the Thai bird-eye chiles (or "boonie peppers"), were added later to create the condiment that is known today. 

Once prepared, it is usually drizzled over meat or rice. Fina'Denne can be prepared with more soy sauce than lemon juice for red meat, chicken or pork dishes. Alternatively, one can use more lemon juice than soy sauce to prepare a Fina'Denne that could work well with fish or seafood. This particular recipe uses an even split between soy sauce and lemon juice. That seemed like an appropriate start for the first time preparing this sauce. 

FINA'DENNE

Recipe adapted from Dad with a Spoon and Annie's Chamorro Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup lemon juice or white vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
• 3 Thai chiles (or 2 serrano chiles), seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 fresno chiles (or 1 jalapeno chile), seeded and thinly sliced
• Cherry tomatoes, sliced or diced

Directions:

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Rest in a refrigerator for up to three days for best results.

PEACE.

Arrachera Verde

My parents bought me Bricia Lopez's Asada, The Art of Mexican Style Cooking for my birthday. It is a cookbook that I have wanted for some time. I wanted to learn more about Mexican cooking, as well as to do more grilling and smoking of meats, seafood and vegetables. As I read the cookbook, I began to make mental lists of the recipes that I wanted to make. One of those recipes is Arrachera Verde. 

The name translates to green skirt steak, which raises a question and provides a nod to its preparation. First, the question is around the meat. While arrachera may mean "skirt steak," the recipe calls for flap steak. That latter is also known as bavette, a thin and chewy cut of meat that is very popular in France, Argentina and Uruguay.  However, I have found that flap steak is not very common or available, at least around where I live. So, I had to look for a substitute, which led me back to skirt steak. Flank steak is also a workable substitute. Both skirt steak and flank steak share many characteristics with flap steak, being thinner cuts, as well as more fibrous and chewy.

The nod goes to the marinade. Perhaps the most green of the marinades is chimichurri. Indeed, Bricia Lopez notes, Arrachera Verde utilizes a marinade that is inspired by chimichurri. The recipe calls for a lot of herbs -- basil, mint, parsley and oregano -- for the marinade. Other classic chimichurri ingredients, like garlic and olive oil, help to round out the marinade. As the photo to the right shows,  the marinade does look a lot like a chimichurri.

The one thing that I like about the marinade is that the recipe says that only thirty (30) minutes are needed before the meat is ready for the grill. (Obviously, one can marinate the meat overnight, but the fact that a short marinade period raises a question for me as to whether a long period is necessary - that may have to await another post.) More importantly, the short marinating period makes the recipe something that can be made as dinner on a busy weekday.

While this blog readily illustrates that I have made quite a few chimichurri recipes over the years, I have to admit that I have rarely made recipes that use flap steak, skirt steak or flank steak. That is another reason why I wanted to make this recipe. I wanted to use a cut of meat that has not been a regular part of my repertoire.

This recipe also led me to another recipe, Salsa de Pina Tatemada. This recipe takes a salsa two ways that are different. First, it incorporates grilled ingredients, like grilled garlic and red onions. Second, it incorporates pineapple, which I have to say I don't usually use when making salsas. But, this salsa really worked and it is amazing with the grilled skirt steak.

One last note, Arrachera Verde with Salsa de Pina Tatemada is best served with corn tortillas. That seems, at least for me, to take me to what asado really is in Mexico.

ARRACHERA VERDE

Recipe from B. Lopez, Asada at 74

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh mint
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
• 2 Fresno chiles
• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon citrus vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 pounds flap steak
• Warm tortillas, for serving
• Salsa de Pina Tatemada, for serving

Directions:

1. Marinate the steak. In a food processor, add the basil, mint, parsley, oregano, chiles, garlic, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, vinegar and salt. Pulse until a smooth paste forms.  Pat the steak dry with paper towels and place it in a large bowl. Rub the paste mixture all over the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

2. Prepare to grill. Remove the meat from the refrigerator to allow it to reach room temperature before grilling if possible. Start a charcoal or gas grill. The gas should be set to high. If using a pellet grill, preheat your grill to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 minutes. If using charcoal, the coals should be red but entirely covered with gray ash.

3. Grill the steak. Remove the meat from the marinade and put it on the grill directly over the fire. Close the lid and cook, turning once, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. 

4. Finish the dish. Slice the meat against the grain. Serve with warm tortillas and the salsa. 

PEACE.

Broiled Lamb Hearts with Salsa Verde and Fresh Chickpea Salad

If you are looking for an economical cut of meat that is still very tasty, then you have to look no further than lamb heart.  At about $4.99 a pound (give or take a few cents or a dollar),  as compared to $9.99 or even $19.99 for other more popular cuts of lamb or beef, it is definitely worth a try.  The only thing is that you have to look very hard to find lamb hearts.  The average grocery store does not stock them.

Fortunately, I have found lamb hearts on occasion at a certain large grocery store that just happened to merge with an online behemoth.  I have cooked with this ingredient twice before.  My first dish was Khalyat Alkadba Wal Galoob (Fried Heart and Liver), which is a Libyan dish I prepared in connection with my Around the World in 80 Dishes challenge.  The second dish was Cuore di Agnello Brasata al Chianti (Lamb Hearts Braised in Chianti).  Both dishes were very good and have always left me wanting more.  

During a recent trip to said large grocery store soon to be owned by even larger online behemoth, I saw that it had lamb hearts.  I decided to buy them and try a more simpler preparation.  I was not going to prepare them in an ethnic style (although I did give that a thought for a moment).  I was not going to do anything fancy with a bottle of wine.  Instead, I decided that I would broil the hearts and try to find different ways to add contrasting and complementing flavors.  

I found a recipe for broiling lamb hearts on LiveStrong, which had a preparatory step that I did not know.  The recipe called for placing the lamb hearts in a bowl of salted water.  In other words, to do a brine.  The recipe did not provide any time limits for the brining of the lamb hearts.  I was also working only with slightly over a half of a pound of meat, as opposed to a twelve pound turkey.  So, I decided that, at most, a half an hour in the brine.  That half of an hour made an incredible difference.  Once cooked the meat was far more tender than my previous attempts and a little more flavorful.  After trying this preparation, I would strongly recommend a brief brine for lamb hearts because it will pay off in the end. 

Still, I only had lamb heart.  I needed something to go with that meat.  I pulled out my cookbooks and surfed the Internet until I came across two recipes from Michael Symon, the well-known chef who hails from Cleveland (which is also my hometown).  One recipe was for a salsa verde, which I thought would go well over the broiled lamb heart.  The recipe was for a Fresh Chick Pea Salad, which made a great side dish.  Both sides are very easy to make and helped to round out a complete meal. 

Now, I know most people are already turned off by the lamb hearts.  Unfortunately, we have been raised to only think about steak, like ribeyes, strip steaks, or burgers.  The supposedly more adventurous think about lamb shanks and rack of lamb.  But, it is in these often overlooked cuts of meat where one can find some true culinary joy. 

BROILED LAMB HEART WITH SALSA VERDE

AND FRESH CHICK  PEA SALAD

Lamb heart recipe adapted from Live Strong

Salsa Verde and Fresh Chick Pea Salad from Cooking Channel

Ingredients (for the lamb):

1/2 pound of lamb heart

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of sherry vinegar

Salt

Ground pepper

Ingredients (for the salsa verde):

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 shallot, minced

1 salt packed anchovy (or a teaspoon anchovy paste)

2 tablespoon salt-packed capers

Pinch red chile flakes

1/2 Fresno chile (or a Cubanelle or Anaheim chile)

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1/2 cup chiffonade fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chiffonade

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Freshly cracked black pepper

Kosher salt

Ingredients (for the chick pea salad):

Salt

3 cups fresh chickpeas, shelled

1/2 shallot, thinly sliced

1/2 Fresno chile (or a Cubanelle or Anaheim chile)

Freshly cracked black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly picked flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup freshly picked mint leaves

Directions:

1.  Prepare the lamb hearts.  Use kitchen scissors or a sharp knife to remove as much fat and connective tissue from the surface of the lamb heart as possible.  Rinse the heart and place it in a bowl of cold water mixed with a pinch of salt.  Preheat the broiler.  Combine the oil and vinegar and whisk together.

2.  Prepare the salsa verde.  In a medium bowl, add the garlic, shallot, anchovy, capers, red chile flakes, chile, lemon zest (save juice for later), mint and parsley.  Save the lemon juice just until serving  - this will help prevent the herbs from turning a dark unappealing color.  Add the extra virgin olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.  Set aside.  Do not salt now.  Allow the flavors to come together.  

3.  Prepare the chickpea salad.  Put a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil.  Once at a boil, season with salt and add the chickpeas.  Allow to blanch for about 10 to 15 seconds.  Add the shallots and chile to a medium bowl.  Drain the chickpeas and add to the shallots and chile.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Toss in the parsley and mint leave.  Taste and season if needed.

4.  Broil the lamb hearts.  Remove the heart and pat dry with towels.  Put on a broiler pan.  Brush with the olive oil/vinegar mixture.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place under the broiler for about 3 minutes.  Flip the hearts and brush the other side with the olive oil/vinegar mixture.  Continue to cook for 3 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit.  Remove from the broiler and let rest for 3 minutes.  

ENJOY!