What to do with leftover rice in your fridge or freezer that needs to get used up? Make Guam’s Chamorro savory alȧguan. Traditionally, alȧguan is rice boiled in water then flavored with salt or sugar. This is a kicked-up version of the savory alȧguan because I wanted to make it a hearty meal topped with Chamorro sausage and some greens. Here's the link to my Chamorro sausage recipe.
If you want it to be simple and quick, use water instead of chicken stock and boil together. Once the rice is soft to your liking, add coconut milk and salt. Taste then add more coconut milk and salt if desired.
If you have leftover shredded chicken, it’s great mixed into alȧguan. Once alȧguan is done, add the chicken and simmer only to heat the chicken.
You may also use raw rice, but you will need to adjust how much water or stock you use.
2 tablespoons or about 30 milliliters lard or coconut oil
¼ cup or 8 grams diced onions
5 cloves garlic, minced
Set 2
4 to 5 cups chicken broth, or about 1 to 1.2 liters
1 ½ cups or 293 grams leftover, cooked rice
Set 3
½ cup or 118 milliliters thick coconut milk
Set 4
1 ½ teaspoons or 1.75 grams salt
½ teaspoon or 0.6 grams black pepper
Tools: medium pot, rubber spatula
DIRECTIONS
Heat lard or coconut oil on medium heat in a medium pot.
Sautee onions tills translucent. Add garlic and sautee for a minute. Add 4 cups of chicken stock and rice.
Bring rice to a gentle boil until it becomes soft, stirring often to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. When you pick up some rice with the spatula, the kernels should look as if they are falling apart. The rice will be much softer than eating regular rice in kȧdo, or soup.
The water from the chicken stock will evaporate. If you run out of broth and the rice is still not falling apart, add a cup more broth.
Once the rice is a porridge-like consistency, add a half cup of thick coconut milk. Add the salt and black pepper. Stir to combine well. Stir and thicken a few more minutes. Taste then add a bit more seasoning if desired.
Eat as is for a small snack. Or, make it a meal – the Guam bomb dot com type of meal – by topping with Chamorro sausage, avocado, and green onions.
Effective March 2021, PaulaQ will begin replacing Canola and vegetable/seed oils in recipes with pure lard from Reverence Farm, coconut oil, and avocado oil.
