A Young Man Cooks Kelaguen

“How can such simple ingredients taste so complex?” I asked Miah and his girlfriend, Haley, when I tasted the dish they brought to our weekend getaway. Miah Taitano, born and raised in Guam, is a recent transplant to Nashville via Oregon. With him, he brought kelaguen, the traditional dish he grew up eating on the island.

The finely chopped chicken dish is bright and fresh, and you can eat it with a spoon. It’s reminiscent of ceviche, but instead of marinated shrimp or fish, it’s grilled chicken. It also immediately reminded me of Thai laab (or larb)—ground chicken or pork tossed with fresh herbs and lime and served with lettuce leaves. This comparison makes sense, because many residents of Guam hail from East Asia.

Everyone in Guam puts their own spin on kelaguen. Google says it has coconut in it, but Miah’s family begs to differ, as their recipe is coconut-free. It’s also commonly made with bone-in chicken thighs, but Miah keeps it simple with boneless, skinless thighs. “I’m really the worst cook in my family,” Miah said sheepishly. “And I take a lot of shortcuts.” After marinating in soy sauce, onions and vinegar, the chicken is grilled, chopped fine and combined with green onion, lemon (or lime), chiles and black pepper. Grilling is traditional, as the smoky flavor is important, but we used a grill pan, and Haley is even prone to using an air fryer. It’s typically served with red rice and sometimes kimchi. “We don’t really eat vegetables on the island—they’re all imported and super expensive—and if so, they’re heavily salted,” Miah laughed.

As often happens in a culinary crossroads, we adapt dishes to what we have available. In Guam, they use a chile pepper called donne’ sali and donne' ti'au, but we substituted Thai red chiles. They use a red rice, and Miah typically uses Calrose rice, but again, you can use any white rice.

As Nashville grows, it continues to become a melting pot of flavors, dishes and cultures. We’re happy to welcome Guam’s kelaguen into the mix.