Saturday, April 4, 2020

GUAM FOODOPEDIA - Letters A/Å - A Dynamic Collaborative for All Things CHamoru Eats.


GUAM FOODOPEDIA
...a dynamic collaborative for all things CHamoru eats.

The goal of this Guam Foodopedia project is to record our collective memories and facts about our food heritage. Our CHamoru food inheritance has changed over time. Whether we like those changes or not, the fact remains that our more recent ancestors cooked differently from our ancient people. And it is also true that what our grandparents cooked during Spanish, American, and Japanese occupations -- is still our heritage. Fortunately, at least the Spanish and other European visitors did write down a few things about Guam's food from the 1500s to the end of the 1800s. In the 1900s, there were a good number of American authors who recorded some information about our food. It's not enough though. By bringing together all that we know about our CHamoru food -- memories from the past and the way we cook today -- our descendants in hundreds of years to come, will know for sure, what their CHamoru food history is.

 Add your Guam food memories and the name you want to use, suggestions, and corrections in the comments below -- this Guam Foodopedia will be updated accordingly. Also leave a note for Guam food restaurants, food trucks, caterers, and sellers. The primary reference for spelling is the Chamorro-English Dictionary by Topping, Ogo, and Dungca. The CHamoru language has changed over time, and there are subtle differences of the language between the inhabited Mariana Islands, including Guam, Saipan, Rota, and Tinian. 

In an effort to preserve and protect the indigenous culture of Guam, at the end of 2018, it was passed into law that the official spelling of Chamorro would be changed to CHamoru.

Each letter of the CHamoru alphabet will have it's own page...eventually. English food-related words will also be included per respective letter.

CHAMORU ATFABETU (tsa-mo-row at-fa-be-too)
Click on each letter.
'(glota)  Aa/Åå  Bb  CHch  Dd  Ed  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn/Ññ/NGng  Oo  Pp  Rr  Ss  Tt  Uu  Yy

' the glota signals a distinct yet subtle hardness/stop after the letter/sound that preceeds it.
Aa makes the sound like the a in apple.

Åå makes the sound like the o in orange and the a in awesome.

Sometimes the Aa sound and the Åå sound are changed in a word depending on how it is used.

 *Unfortunately, not every site contains the letters Aa with the solid dot/lonnat (lon-nat) on top. It should be a lonnat as opposed to an open circle.*

A/Å

Å'a'
  • (aw-a). Open your mouth
  • Å'a' fan yan chagi este finattinas-hu (aw-a fan dzan tsa-gee es-tee fee-na-tee-nas-hu). Open your mouth please and try what I made.
A'aga
  • (a-aga). Wrasse fish
  • About 85 different species of wrass fish are found around the Mariana Islands. Characteristics include thick lips, smooth scales, long top and bottom fins, large and protruding teeth, and range from 2 inches to 6.5 feet long. Family - Labridae.
Åbas
  • (aw-bas). Guava 
  • Introduced by the Spanish; one of the first writings of guava on Guam was in 1772.
  • Used to be plentiful on Guam. Ripe guava grew to about the size of a large apple; has thin yellow skin and sweet pink fruit inside with lots of tiny cream-colored seeds. Tree may be planted all year long, but it takes about 10 years to bear fruit. Fruit ripens within 90 to 150 days once the flowers have bloomed. Local guava is available all year long. Psidium guajava.
Åbrilåta
  • (aw-bree-law-ta). Can opener
  • Hasso na yanngen tåya åbrilåta, usa ha i puntan i se'se' para åbrilåta-mu (ha-sue na dzan-gen taw-dza aw-bree-law-ta, ew-sa ee pewn-tan se-see pa-ra aw-bree-law-ta-mu). Remember that when there is no can opener, use the tip of a knife as your can opener.
Abuchuelas
  • (a-boo-tswe-las). Bush or pole beans
  • Varieties grown on Guam include Early Bush, Kentucky Wonder, Dade, and Contender. Best planting months are September to April with 50 to 60 days till maturity, and 3 weeks of harvest; available all year. Phaseolus vulgaris.
Abuni
  • (a-boo-knee). Food sac or fleshy parts of fish and shell fish including lobster, crab, and shrimp
  • I abunin tataga' gof mångi yanggen manunu i guihan (ee a-boo-nin ta-ta-ga gowf mong-ngee dzan-gin ma-new-new ee gwee-han). The guts of the unicorn fish is so good when the fish is barbecued.
Acha
  • (a-tsa). Pound
  • Usa i lusong yan lommok ya un acha i donne' para i dinanche' (ew-sa ee lew-sung dzan lo-muk dza ewn a-tsa ee doe-knee pa-ra ee di-nan-tsee). Use the mortar and pestle to pound the hot pepper for the pepper-vegetable-coconut milk mix.
  • (a-tso-tee). Annatto
  • It is the reddish-orange color and the flavor in making CHamoru red rice or hineksa agaga' (hee-neck-sa a-ga-ga). Also commonly used to color and flavor pork, beef, and chicken Guam dishes. From the achote or lipstick tree. Each fruit has about 20 to 50 seeds inside. Bixa orellana.
  • Guam achote recipes  -- red rice 1, chalakiles 1, empanåda 1
Åcho' mulinu
  • (aw-tsu moo-lee-no). Grinding stone for the molino
Adobu
  • (a-doe-boo). Pot roast 
  • A savory dish made with beef, pork, or chicken; flavored with vinegar, salt, garlic, sometimes achote, and oftentimes with soy sauce. More commonly called estufao (es-too-fao) in CHamoru.
  • Guam adobu/estufao recipes -- chicken estufao 1
Ado'
  • (a-du). Edible sea grapes 
  • On low tide, you can walk to the reef and pick these strands of sour ocean produce. These are surprisingly crunchy.
Aflitu
  • (a-flee-too). Fry
  • Asaguå-hu, aflitu fan i guihan pot fabot. (a-sa-gwah-who, a-flee-too fan ee gwee-han powt fa-bot). Husband -- or wife -- please fry the fish.
Aflague, Gerard
Åfok
  • (aw-fuk). Crushed limestone or slaked lime
  • Used to soften dried corn kernels so that the corn can be ground to make titiyas (ti-tee-dzas) and tamȧles (ta-maw-les).
  • Guam recipe using åfok -- tamåles gisu 1
Afuyot
  • (a-foo-dzut). To wrap up; make a ball of something; wind around
Aga'
  • (a-ga). Ripe banana 
  • Bananas were brought to Guam by Guam's first settlers.
  • There are many varieties on Guam to include Manila, Fiji, Makao, Palau, Tanduki Williams Hybrid, Lacatån, Guåhu, and Blue Java. Tree may be planted all year, but it takes about 9 months to bear fruit. Here's a link to growing bananas on Guam.
  • Chotda (tsot-da). Green or cooking banana including Tanduki.
  • A banana tree will grow only one cluster of bananas. As this original tree grows, also known as the Saina (parent) tree, little baby banana trees will sprout around the Saina. After the cluster is cut from Saina, this first tree may be cut down, allowing the baby trees to grow and fruit. Pack dirt around the baby trees to make them stronger. Baby trees may also be carefully removed and replanted, but only after Saina's fruit has been harvested. - Paul Lujan from Canada, Barrigada (ka-nya-da, ba-ree-gaw-da)
  • Guam banana recipes -- boñelos aga' 1, gollai appan aga' 1
Agaga'
  • (a-ga-ga). Red
  • Kulot agaga' i donne' (kew-lowt a-ga-ga ee don-knee). The hot pepper is red.
Agaga' chåda
  • (a-ga-ga tsaw-da). Egg yolk
Agon
  • (a-gon). Food staples like rice, taro, corn, yam.
  • Esta guaha meggai na agon gi lamasa (es-ta gwa-ha meh-guy na a-gon gee la-ma-sa). There are already a lot of staples on the table.
Agrikuttura
  • (a-gree-kewt-too-ra). Agriculture
Ågua
  • (aw-gwa). Mature milkfish
Åguanon
  • (aw-gwa-non). When a cream base becomes watery
Åguas
  • (aw-gwas). Gill of fish
Aguayenti, Agi
  • (a-gwa-dzen-tee, a-gee). Distilled liquor from fruit, in most cases on Guam, from the sweet sap of the coconut tree.
Aguon, Lorraine M.
 Åhonholi
  • (aw-hown-ho-lee). Sesame seeds
Åhos
  • (aw-hos). Garlic
Åhu 
  • (aw-who). A dessert soup made of young coconut, water, and sugar. 
  • May be eaten cold or hot; sugar may be caramelized producing a brown-colored ahu; to keep ahu from getting thin, don't stir too much and leave the pot uncovered until it is room temperature.
  • Guam ahu recipes -- ahu 1
Ais
  • (ice). Ice
Ais båks
  • (ice-bawks). Ice box or refrigerator
Ais krim
  • (ice-krim). Ice cream
Ais keke
  • (ice-ke-kee). Ice pop
  • Typical ice pops on Guam are shaped in sturdy, cylindrical plastic; way back when they used to sell big, fancy-shaped ais keke.
Åkka'
  • (awk-ka). Bite
  • Åkka' un pidåsun mångga para i neni (aw-ka ewn pee-daw-suwn mong-ga pa-ra ee ne-knee). Bite a piece of mango for the baby.
Akmangao
  • (ak-mang-ao). Mangrove crab
Akoa
  • Per Guampedia.com, a hoe with a flat and sharp stone fastened at the end of a long, wooden pole. The pole measured about 5 feet; the stone was 3 inches wide and 1.5 inches thick.
Alabama

 Alagatapeha', Alageta
  • (aw-la-ga-ta-pey-ha, a-la-ge-ta). Avocado 
  • Introduced by the Spanish; one of the first writings about avocado was after 1772.
  • Varieties grown on Guam are long purple, round purple, long green, and round green. Tree may be planted all year long, but takes 10 to 15 years to mature. Local avocado are available from January through October. Persea americana.
  • (a-law-gwan). Savory soup made with rice, water, and coconut milk
  • A dish prepared by Guam's first settlers.
Alice Maxwell
  • Author of Recipes of Guam published August 1954. This book contains original recipes for poto, tininun lemmai, and titiyas mai'es -- appears to be written direct from an interview.
Alamen
  • (a-la-men). Silvermouth fish
Alaska

 Alesna
  • (a-les-na). Ice pick
Alumlen manunu
  • (a-lawm-len ma-knew-knew). Wire for grilling over open flames
Alileng
  • (a-lee-ling). Top shell or trochus 
  • CHamorus use the shellfish to make kelaguen (ke-la-gwen).
Ålimenta
  • (aw-lee-men-ta). Energy, nourish, nutrition, support, feed
Ålimentosu
  • (aw-lee-men-tos-sue). Nutritious
Ålu
  • (aw-lew). Barracuda
Amariyo
  • (a-ma-ree-dzu). Yellow
  • Kulot amariyu i låssas i aga' (koo-lowt a-ma-ree-dzu ee law-sas ee-a-ga). The skin of the banana is yellow.
Amåsa
  • (a-maw-sa). To knead dough 
  • Also known as yåka' (dzaw-ka).
Ambre
  • Hungry, famished, or starving
  • More commonly used term is ñålang (nyaw-lang).
Amot
  • (a-mewt). Medicine
Amotsa, amotsat
  • (a-motte-sa, a-motte-sat). A meal, any meal; time for a meal; time to eat. Can refer to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
  • Håfa para amotsa? (haw-fa pa-ra a-motte-sa). What is to eat? Or, if in the morning, what is for breakfast?
Amsong
  • (am-sung). Edible baby crab
Anai, Annai
  • (a-nie). When
  • Anai munhåyan hao chumocho, fagåsi i na'yan-mu (a-nie mewn-aw-dzan how tsu-mo-tsu, fa-gaw-see ee na-dzan-moo). When you are done eating, wash your dishes.
Ancient
Anibat Tuba
  • (a-knee-bat too-ba). Sweet syrup made from the tuba; tuba is the fermented sap of the coconut flower.
  • Commonly used before World War II, especially to dip boñelos dågu (unsweetened yam doughnuts).
  • Written reference made in Ben Blaz's book, Bisita Guam: Let Us Remember.
Annatto
  • Achote (a-tso-tee) in CHamoru
  • It is the reddish-orange color and the flavor in making CHamoru red rice or hineksa agaga' (hee-neck-sa a-ga-ga). Also commonly used to color and flavor pork, beef, and chicken Guam dishes. From the achote or lipstick tree. Each fruit has about 20 to 50 seeds inside. Bixa orellana
  • Guam achote dishes -- red rice 1, chalakiles 1, empanåda 1
Ankånno'
  • (an-kaw-nu). Leftover food
Antigu, Antigon
Å'paka
  • (aw-pa-ka). White
  • Å'paka i hineksa' (aw-pa-ka ee he-nek-sa). The cooked rice is white.
Åpaka' Chåda'
  • (aw-pa-ka tsaw-da). Egg white
Apåtte
Apigige'
  • (a-pi-gee-gee). A dessert of grated tapioca mixed with young coconut and sugar. The mixture is wrapped in banana leaf then grilled.
  • Apigige' was prepared by Guam's first settlers.
  • Håfa yamu mås, apigige' pat i tamåles mendioka? (haw-fa dza-mu maws, ee a-pi-gee-gee pat ee ta-maw-les men-dee-oh-ka?) What do you like more, apigige' or cassava tamales?
  • Link to history of apigige' on Guam.
Åppan
  • (aw-pan). Evaporate or dry up
  • Local staples are commonly simmered in coconut milk until the water has evaporated, rendering the coconut milk, or cream, quite thick. The dish may be sweetened with sugar and cinnamon or kept savory with salt and bacon.
  • Dr. Judy Flores writes that cooking foods in coconut milk was a natural method of food preparation among the ancient Southeast Asian migrants that settled Guam -- a cooking style that has continued to modern day Guam. Here's a link to gollai åppan explained on Guampedia.com.
  • Guam åppan dishes -- gollai åppan aga' 1, gollai åppan mendioka (tapioca), gollai åppan suni (taro), gollai åppan lemai (breadfruit), gollai åppan kamuti (sweet potato)
Apple
  • Malus domestica, also known as cooking apple, eating apple, culinary apple
  • Mansåna (man-saw-na).
  • Makupa (ma-koo-pa). The closest thing on Guam to the typical apple is the mountain apple. Other names for mountain apple are rose apple, Malay apple, Malay rose apple, pommerac. Caryophyllus malaccensis
Apson
  • (ap-son). Sour
  • Gof apson i ibba' (gof ap-son ee ee-ba). The Tahitian gooseberry is very sour.
Aridondo
  • (a-ree-don-do). Round
  • Aridondo i kåhet, mansåna, yan i mansanita (a-ree-don-do ee kaw-hit, man-saw-na, dzan ee man-sa-knee-ta). The orange, apple, and cherries are round.
Arizona
 Arkansas

 Arros Kådo
  • (a-ros kaw-do). Savory broth-based rice soup
Asiga
  • (a-see-ga). Salt
  • Way back when, it was a common practice to make salt from ocean water, or to scrape the salt off the large rocks by the ocean.
  • In his book, A History of Guam, Lawrence Cunningham describes salt making -- that some families would build a small hut near the ocean, make a fire, and boil salt water to make nearly 50 pounds of salt a week. This salt was used by the family, and for bartering for other goods.
  • Though not as common today, there are still folks on Guam that make salt straight from the sea.
Åsne
  • (aws-knee). To pickle using salt
Åsngot
  • (aws-ngot). Chinese white ginger
Asukat
  • (a-sue-kat). Sugar
  • In olden times, sugar on Guam was made by boiling the sweet sap of the coconut flower (tuba) or by boiling the juice of the sugar cane.
  • Written reference made in Ben Blaz's book, Bisita Guam: Let Us Remember
Asuli
  • (a-sue-lee). Fresh water eel
Åtes, Åtis
 
  • (aw-tis) Sweet sop
  • Introduced by the Spanish; one of the first writings about åtis was after 1772.
  • A fruit that ranges in size from a small to a large apple with a green, rough, globular exterior, more heart shaped than circular. As it ripens, the small parts of the exterior begin to turn black, and the globules begin to separate. Each of the many seeds inside is surrounded by sweet, slippery flesh. Åtes may be picked early, then ripened on the counter. The Guam fruit bats, or fanihi (fa-knee-he), love this fruit. The tree may be planted and is available anytime of year, but takes 2 to 3 years to start to bear fruit. Annona squamosa
Atte
  • To pour slowly
Atkapåres, Atkapåras
  • (at-ka-paw-res, at-ka-paw-ras). Capers
  • Introduced by the Spanish; one of the first writings about capers was in 1772.
Atmagosu
  • (at-ma-go-su). Bitter melon
  • Bittermelon was brought to Guam by her first settlers.
  • This is a very bitter vegetable, but it is commonly soaked in salty water or pickled to reduce bitterness.
  • May be planted and is available any time of year. Momordica charantia
Atmåyas 
  • (at-maw-dzas). A savory gruel of ground, lime-treated corn, coconut milk, water, and salt.
Atuhong
  • (a-too-whong). Parrot fish
Atulai
Atole
  • (a-toe-lay). Broth or stew of rice, grated coconut, and salted fish
  • According to Guampedia.com, this type of dish was served at feasts.
Atuli, Atulin Elotes
  • (a-too-lee, a-too-lin ee-lo-tis). A savory dish of boiled fresh corn, and/or ground corn, coconut milk, onions, and in modern times, with added chicken.
Atupat
Ayao
  • (a-dzow). Borrow
  • Ayao fan the neighbor some sugar.
Ayunat
  • (a-dzu-nat). Fasting during lent. 
  • More commonly called Kuaresma (qwa-res-ma).
Ayunu
  • (a-dzu-new). To fast or do without food
Ayuyu
  • (a-dzu-dzu). Coconut crab. 
  • Once very populous on Guam, but because of over-crabbing, restrictions are in place including the release of females with eggs.
  • A good time to catch ayuyu is late at night when they like to crawl out from the rocks.

Printable Guam Chamorro food recipes may be found at Paulaq.com.










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