Fried Rice with Spam, Bacon and Chorizos Españot

Ingredients:

• 5 large eggs

• 4 links Chorizos Españot (or use your favorite sausage)

• 1 package bacon

• 1 can Spam (use Lite Spam to cut down on fat and sodium)

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon Dashida seasoning (more or less, to taste)

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 6 cups cooked rice

• 1 bunch (about 5 stalks) green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Heat a wok over medium heat. If you don’t have a non-stick wok, spray cooking spray to coat the wok. Crack the eggs into the heated wok. Use a large cooking spoon to stir the eggs, scrambling them. As the eggs cook, use the spoon to break the eggs up into small pieces. Remove the cooked eggs from the wok; set aside.

2. Prepare the Chorizos Españot. This is how I get rid of a lot of the fat in these delicious sausages. Cut the sausage links in half lengthwise. Peel the outer casing off. Place the links, cut-side down, on a paper towel-lined plate. Microwave the sausages for about a minute.

After the sausages cooled off for a bit, hold each sausage half in between a paper towel and give it a good squeeze. This gets out a whole lot more of the thick orange fatty stuff. Cut the sausages into small pieces and set aside.

For those of you who may not know what Chorizos Españot is, it’s a type of dried sausage–sort of like pepperoni. The brand is Marca El Rey. Chamorros can spot the telltale green bag with a picture of a king on the front from a mile away!

3. Cut the bacon into small pieces then place in the hot wok. Cook the bacon until it’s as crisp as you like it and most of the fat has melted off. Drain as much of the fat from the wok as you can. When the bacon is done, remove from the wok and place into a bowl lined with paper towels to soak up any remaining hot melted fat.

4. Add the spam to the wok. Cook for a few minutes, just long enough for the spam to begin to brown slightly.

5. After the spam has browned, add the diced onions, garlic, dashida, and black pepper to the pot. Stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes.

6. Add the bacon and chorizos to the wok. Stir to combine.

7. Add the cooked rice. GENTLY stir to mix the rice with the rest of the ingredients (you don’t want to mash the rice or you’ll end up with a mushy mess).

8. Add the cooked eggs and green onions. Gently stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes then remove from the heat.

Champulådu

There are several Chamorro comfort foods that not only make me feel good right down to my bones, but bring back so many fond memories of growing up on Guam.

Champulådu is one of those dishes. It’s a porridge of sorts, only made with rice, evaporated milk and CHOCOLATE! I think that’s why I love it so much — who doesn’t love chocolate?

You don’t need too much rice for this dish. A little goes a long way since you’ll be cooking the rice until it breaks down and thickens the liquid.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked rice, or 2 cups for a thicker “porridge”

• 4 cups water

• 1 can evaporated milk

• 1 cup cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Wash the rice and place in a medium sized pot. Add water and cook over medium high heat. Keep the pot lit on until the rice begins to boil.

2. Once the rice comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low; add cocoa powder, sugar, and milk.

3. Whisk to combine all the ingredients. Continue to cook at a low simmer over medium-low heat for approximately 30 more minutes. The mixture should thicken considerably during this time. If it’s too thick for your liking, add more milk then adjust the sugar to taste. Serve warm and enjoy!

Madoya (fried banana)

This is another dish that brings back lots of amazing memories of growing up on Guam. My aunt and uncle used to grow cooking bananas and give our family several “hands” whenever they harvested some.

When I make madoya, I like for the banana to be the star of the show. Therefore, I don’t make a super thick batter. Instead, I make my batter thin, yet still thick enough to provide a nice coating when fried.

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe plantains

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• Oil, for frying

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, water, cinnamon and sugar. The batter should drip quickly when you lift the whisk out of the bowl. It’s much thinner than pancake batter. (Sorry for the fuzzy photo below.)

2. Peel and slice the plantains into small slices (you can also slice them length-wise instead of across).

3. Place the banana slices into the batter. Use a fork to gently stir the slices into the batter, carefully separating them (be careful not to mash the bananas).

4. Heat your oil. Once the oil is ready, carefully drop in each slice. Don’t put too many in at once or else they will stick together

5. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the oil; place the fried bananas on papers towels to drain. Serve and enjoy!