Jun 12, 2012

Tininon Mannok Yan Hineska' Agaga (Guam-Style Chicken with Red Rice)

Marinated with the traditional Guam-style sauce finadene, a blend of cane vinegar, soy sauce, and aromatics, this succulent grilled chicken is served with annatto-tinged red rice at the food cart PDX 671 in Portland, Oregon. This recipe first appeared in our June/July 2012 issue along with Dana Bowen's story Food of the People.

Credit: Todd Coleman

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

3 cups soy sauce
1 ½ cups cane vinegar (available at Exe's Asian Market)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced, plus ⅓ cup finely chopped
2 ½ lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
2 ½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes
2 ½ cups jasmine rice
2 tbsp. ground annatto seeds (available at The Great American Spice Company)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To make the marinade, combine 2 cups soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, sliced onion, and 1 cup water in a large bowl; add chicken and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight to marinate.

2. Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce: Stir together remaining soy sauce and chopped onion with lemon juice, scallions, chile flakes, and ½ cup water; set aside.

3. To make the red rice, combine rice, annatto, and 5 cups water in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until rice is tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep rice warm.

4. Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to medium-high. (Alternatively, heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat.) Cook chicken, turning, until browned, about 8 minutes. Serve with rice and dipping sauce, on the side.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #148

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Ratings & Reviews (6)

by lmartz.rn on 2012-06-05

Haven't tried this recipe, but can guarantee it will be great. Guamanian/Chamorro food is spicey, tangy goodness, and red rice, finadene and marinated chicken is heaven on a plate! Purists would be horrified that Jasmine rice is used instead of medium grain Calrose, but it sounds delicious!

by MANOA808 on 2012-06-12

I wish to clarify...you do not use 'finadene' for the marinade...it is the universal dipping sauce that generally is present at every meal and fandango.

Hafa Adai!
Francisco

by JOHNLE on 2012-07-16

Only if I can cook like this! I am going to try this recipe tonite.

by ejm on 2012-07-28

This was fabulous! We used the marinade on pork butt. The red rice is reminiscent of biriyani, even though it was made with Thai rice rather than basmati. (We think you're right, lmartz.rn. Using jasmine rice would be too extravagant.)

We'll definitely be making this again and again. Next time, we'll try the marinade on chicken....

by denisebelen on 2013-01-21

For the red rice, did you leave out the step to make annatto oil with the seeds-- or did you really mean to make the rice with the seeds?

by PDXMOMMA on 2013-01-26

For the red rice - soak the annatto seeds in hot water for about an hour, to pull out most of the coloring and flavoring of the seeds. From there, grind all the seeds in the water (mortar and pestle - style). Then strain the red-orange liquid out.
*If you make the rice with whole seeds, it will taste extremely bitter. You just want the color and flavor of the seeds.
I hope this helps!

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