Guam BBQ for our Hong Kong Guests...Island Style!!

We hosted a BBQ for our friends from Hong Kong. They came to Guam for a wedding. The newlyweds are the young lady with the blue sweater and the young man with the white t-shirt. They are also from Hong Kong. Guam is a popular wedding destination. Four of them also went deep sea fishing. They had a great fishing trip. They hooked up a marlin, caught Mahi Mahi and bonita (skipjack) tuna. They all said they had a blast. Super nice and humble people..

Here are pictures of the BBQ...

Here is a picture of our Hong Kong guests. My wife, Lupe is in the middle with the pearl necklace and my good buddy, Vince Santos, is in the middle of the back row with the ball cap. Everyone else is from Hong Kong. 

Here is they view our guests had as they came up the driveway to the Olivas household, complete with Tiki torches for that nice tropical setting. 

Closer view of the eating area supplemented by lighting on the pugua (betelnut) trees. 

Some of the food. As the night wore on we came out with freshly caught Mahi Mahi, and Shrimp Kebabs, Spanish Rice and a few other items. Here we have white rice, marlin kelaguen, cabbage cold slaw (Lupe's Slaw), fresh pan de sol dinner buns, mustard fried chicken, BBQ ribs, homemade chili beans with top sirloin chunks, smoked yellowfin tuna deviled eggs....

Moving on we have fresh honeydew melon, fresh papaya, Manila banana, rakyo, diago, of course the fresh lemon finadenne (hot dipping sauce). 

Here we added the hot pepper and calamansi lemons.. 

Then we brought out the chilled Mangoes... 

Group picture before everyone really tore into the food. 

Another group picture. I am in this one. Guess which one is me? 

My good friend Vince Santos from Santa Rita, explaining some of the menu items....At least I hope he was... 

The Newlywed Bride is spooning some chili beans... 

Then the Mahi Mahi came off the BBQ. As I mentioned earlier, four of our guests had been out on a charter fishing boat with a good buddy of mine. They hooked up a marlin and a few other fish. This was one super fresh Mahi Mahi that Lupe prepared and I BBQ'd in foil. They simply loved it. One of our guests told me a fish like this would cost them about $300 in Hong Kong. As much as they love to eat fish, they can only afford certain kinds. Needless to say, we all tore this up!!!! 

My wife,Lupe, is refilling the marlin kelaguen (similar to fish ceviche). Our guests loved everything. We were so happy that they enjoyed all the food. I can't tell you how many times our guests went back to the table. And we were all doing the same thing. Just like how we do it here all the time. They were eating practically the whole time they were here!!!! Just like island style. Hey that's what we do and so did they. It was a pure joy to have our guests enjoy themselves. I hope they come back again!! 

Yep, the Mahi  was definitely hit hard!! 

Hitting Lupe's slaw again... and you can see the BBQ'd shrimp kebabs next to the marling kelaguen. We all must of ate at least 40 of those alone.... 

Group pic around the Mahi..... 

The chili was also very popular. Our guests don't typically eat this kind of food in Hong Kong. Reminds them of the western foods. 

My next door neighbor, Harold, was definitely enjoying the chow. He especially loved the mustard fried chicken with my little kick in there (smoked paprika) 

Harold getting into some Mahi. And a whole lot of picture taking went on all night. These are some of their memories of Guam...

More Mahi.... 

This is the Auntie, caught in the act. She loved everything and showed it many times...Hehe!! 

This is the grooms Mother. Loved the fish... 

The Auntie biting into a donne' sali (a type of hot pepper). I waited for her reaction. Hardly anything at all...not hot for her!!! 

The groom's father loving the mango. There isn't a whole lot of fresh mango like this in Hong Kong. His son, Stanley, my friend, said that this mango was the best mango he ever had eaten. And they were cold.

Mom is liking the fresh Manila bananas..... She is giving her seal of approval. Can you tell? 

This is the bride's Mother. She is having some more fish.

Auntie is eating mango now. When I brought the bowl out, it never made it to the table before she picked hers. She was trying to peel it with her fingers, but I recommended the tooth method. Bite and tear... too easy... 

Lupe brought out the chilled coconuts for a very refreshing drink. This amped up the conversation. It was obvious that they loved it. 

Lupe and the Auntie showing off their "guns". Lupe had the ladies going all night long. Lupe is so friendly. 

Lupe is still talking and..... 

The ladies are still listening. They followed Lupe everywhere. Lupe took them for a tour of the yard showing them all the different trees, plants and flowers...They were amazed.

Hong Kong is all city and Stanley told me that the cost of living is very high there. Gas costs almost $9/gal. Now that is expensive. I recommended that he move to Guam. 

Groom's Mom is loving that juicy, sweet mango.. 

The newlywed bride enjoying the mustard fried chicken. 

You can tell how close we all became in such a short while. Vince and the Dad, with his son Stanley on the other side of Vince, showing that friendship. They won't soon forget us or Guam... 

Our last group photo and cover shot. I love this photo as they all shot up with the "Shaka" on their own. The young man in the white t-shirt on the their right is the Groom and Stanley's brother.

Stanley (pink shirt) told me this that surprised but touched me. He said that this is the best family gathering that he can remember. This is the first time that the family had ever traveled together (it is very expensive for them) and the best ever BBQ or party that they have attended. They just don't do these things in Hong Kong due to the expense. Gatherings are small and it is very hard to get the family together due to everyone's schedules. Stanley said that this was the trip of a lifetime and they will never forget it. Stanley also told me that all of his family members were saying the same thing and could not believe the hospitality. 

As we say on Guam, this is the Hafa Adai Spirit!!!

So ends the trip and memories of a lifetime. 

We were so honored to have met and hosted our special Hong Kong guests. We are waiting to do this again!!!

That's Island Hospitality!! 

Until next time...

What's for Breakfast in Your House??

Well the most memorable breakfast that I had this week was the leftovers from a BBQ that we had Thursday night. We hosted a BBQ for some friends from Hong Kong who were here for a wedding of one of their family members. I jumped on the opportunity of having some of those leftovers for breakfast.

Here is what I ate:

What we have here is marlin kelaguen, similar to ceviche, Spanish rice and corn tortillas. This was very tasty.

You may or may not know that fish kelaguen is raw fish that is cooked with fresh citrus juice. In this case I used the fresh lemons that I have growing here on my property. Add in some chopped green onions for flavor and diced hot pepper and salt to taste and you have a winning combination.

The Spanish rice is also homemade. Here is the recipe:

Spanish Rice 

Ingridients: 

2 cups of Jasmine Rice 

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce 

2 tomato cans of homemade chicken stock 

3 cloves of garlic (minced very fine) 

2 tbsp of oil 

Instructions: 

In a fry pan add the oil and brown the rice over medium heat stirring constantly; 

About the last minute add the garlic; 

When done, add the tomato sauce and the two cans of chicken stock; 

Bring everything to a boil stirring constantly; 

Once the rice starts to thicken, turn heat down to simmer; 

Stir occasionally until rice is fully cooked to your desire. 

Note** Some like their rice a little moist, some like it fluffy. Either way is fine.

All this served with hot corn tortillas. I like this kind of breakfast. I am getting a lot of protein and a touch of tanginess from the kelaguen. Gets me going for the day anyway.

Give this a try. It might be your new way to start the day!!!!

Until next time....

Friday Night BBQ for Two!!!

Friday night on Guam and what to do. BBQ for two of course.

It is just the two of us left at home now. Lupe and I. All the kids are grown and gone. Still in the area and welcome any time. We miss our kids. You all know how that goes.

Anyway, Lupe came home from work and wanted to relax. I already had 1/2 a chicken in the refer marinating and potatoes sliced and ready to go.

Lupe decides to make some pasta salad and she also heated up some chili beans.

Well I go out and start the fire and do my thing. Here are a few pics...

I set up a little BBQ area on an upper level section of our property. I have 4 different areas where I like to BBQ. Only lighting is by Tiki torches.

Chicken and potato slices on the grill.

Potato slices were brushed with sesame oil, salt and peppered and brushed again with Mama Sita's BBQ Marinade Sauce.

BBQ'd Chicken well done....This is the way Lupe loves her chicken. Still very juicy.

Lupe's Pasta Salad, just like Macaroni Salad.

Lupe just has to have her hot peppers...

Lupe and Guapo lighting up the place. It's her smile folks!!!!!

And Lupe did get some grill time in. She is one happy camper as you can tell.

It was a good Friday night...just the two of us.

Until next time....

Wednesday Night Stir-Fry!!

If you have been following my blog you would know that every Wednesday night my wife, Lupe, hosts a Scrabble party. You know Scrabble, the board game of words.. And of course I always cook up something for the players. This week it was Sugar Pea Stir Fry.

Here is the recipe to go along with the picture....

Sugar Pea Stir Fry

By Rueben Olivas

I name my different stir fries by an ingredient that is unique. In this case it is the sugar peas…

Ingredients:

8 pieces of Chicken tenders, cut crossways into ½ in. strips

4 pieces of leftover bacon diced up

2 small heads of broccoli, trimmed to the individual florets which I also cut in half. Stalks also trimmed off and split and all rinsed.

½ lb. of Sugar peas which is about one pack, rinsed.

8 small baby bok choy, ends cut and leaves separated and rinsed.

½ medium red onion, cut in half again and then thinly sliced.

6 cloves of garlic very thinly sliced.

Two packs of original Ichi Ban noodles, without the flavoring packets.

4 tbsp soy sauce.

3 tbsp Mama Sita’s BBQ marinade (http://www.msita.com/sauces.htm ).

1 cube of butter.

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Directions:

Parboil the broccoli. I put about ½ in. of water in a pan, add the broccoli, cover and remove when softened but still firm. Allow to drain;

Boil water for Ichi Ban. Add Ichi Ban to soften it up only (al dente) to add to stir fry later. Remove and let drain. You do not want the Ichi Ban soggy;

In wok on highest heat sauté onions, garlic and chicken together using ¼ stick of butter. Add black pepper and salt to taste. When browned set aside;

Add the rest of the butter to wok, then stir fry the broccoli, sugar peas, baby bok choy, bacon, chicken with the onions and garlic and Ichi Ban noodles (cut the noodle up a little with a butter knife);

Add the soy and barbecue sauce to this;

Add salt and black pepper to taste;

Stir fry only until the ingredients are cooked but still firm. You do not want soggy veggies. I use two tools to toss the ingredients around. It’s a lot easier this way;

When done, transfer immediately to a serving platter or bowl. Get it all off the heated wok.

Let me tell you, this is one tasty dish. Those Ichi Ban noodles really soak up the flavors. You have got to try this. You won't be disappointed.

Until next time.... 

Pistachio Cake... Island Favorite!!

Everyone loves dessert. A Guam island favorite is Pistachio cake.

Here is a great tasting recipe from one of our friends. And it is so easy to make. Even I can make this...

Pistachio Cake

Recipe supplied by Arlene

Cake:

1 Box of Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix

For the water portion of the instructions, make it 1/2 water and 1/2 Rum.

Add 1 box of Jello Pistachio pudding into the batter.

Add green food coloring until it is the color that you like.

Those are the only deviations from the instructions on the box.

Glaze:

Recipe supplied by Lani

1 cup confectioner's sugar;

3 tbsp milk;

1tsp vanilla;

butter for flavoring.

That's all there is to it.

Sinimple...right?

Until next time....

Smoking Yellow Fin Tuna....Guam Style!!

Here is my latest post on my BBQGuam blog. I thought you might enjoy it.

Smoking Yellow Fin Tuna....Guam Style!!

Until next time....

Smoked Ham Hock and Beans

Rainy days on Guam call for some special indoors cooking. Today my wife, Lupe, cooked up some delicious Smoke Ham Hock and Beans.

Here is her recipe and process:

Smoked Ham Hocks and Beans

This process involves the use of a pressure cooker. This allows one to greatly cut down cooking times. But if you don’t have a pressure cooker, just cook as per the instructions in a regular pot until the ham hocks and beans are tender. Both are cooked separately.

Ingredients:

6 smoked ham hocks

2 bags of pinto beans

2 tbsp of olive oil

One medium onion

1 16 oz. can of stewed tomatoes

1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce

2-3 tbsp of chili powder

1 tbsp of granulated garlic powder

Cooking the Ham Hocks:

In a pressure cooker (we have the 8 Qt. size) place all six ham hocks inside, and fill with water. Make sure you keep the water level just below the line inside the pressure cooker.

Lock the lid in place and put on stove. Place pressure regulator on top of vent pipe in the middle of the lid.

Heat on high until the pressure regulator starts to rock gently and gives off a whistling noise. Set your timer for 6 minutes and mark the time. At the end of the time, turn off the heat completely.

Wait until the pressure drops enough for you to open the lid.

Empty ham hocks into another container and set aside.

Cooking the Beans:

Same process as the ham hocks except once both bags of bean are inside, fill with water until it covers the beans about 2 inches.

Add 2 tbsp of olive oil. This is because dry beans and peas have a tendency to froth and foam during cooking, which could cause the vent pipe to become blocked. The oil helps in this regard.

Cook on high heat. Once the pressure regulator starts to rock gently and gives off a whistling noise, time the beans for 8 minutes. Turn off the heat entirely at the 8 minute mark.

Combining the Ham Hocks with Beans:

Once the cooker has depressurized, open and pour the beans and bean liquid into another cooking pot big enough to hold everything.

Place this pot over the burner at a medium heat.

Cut up the ham hocks. They should have been scored already. Add them into the pot.

Dice up the onion and stewed tomatoes and add them into the pot. Make sure that you also add the juice from the stewed tomatoes.

Add the 2-3 tbsp of chili powder, 1 tbsp of granulated garlic powder, and tomato sauce into the pot.

Cook for approximately 10-15 minutes or until you are satisfied.

Salt to taste. I normally don’t have to salt this because the smoked ham hocks have enough salt on their own.

Serve with rice and lemon finadenne’.

And here is the lemon finadenne':

We had a great time eating this.

Until next time....