A Few Chuukese Recipes

I have a love/hate relationship with Chuukese food. Some of it is delicious, and some of it isn’t. The local island food is nutritious and tasty, but the islanders prefer to eat the lowest quality food product imaginable that is imported from the unsold stockpiles of American grocery stores. There are a wide variety of good ways to prepare fish, bananas, and the other tropical treats; but I am going to tell you about some of the more interesting meals. I am not going to get into all the details about all the weird things that I have eaten like turtles, dogs, sea slugs, fish heads and pig intestines. I am also not just going to give you a boring list about my daily eating habits. Instead I thought I would enlighten your culinary curiosity and explain how the Chuukese have put a twist on some traditional dishes.

SASHMI A LA CARTE

·        Catch a fish from the ocean

·        Slice vertical lines at centimeter intervals

·        Pour soy sauce and lime juice on it

·        Pick up the entire fish with your hands and gnaw the gooey flesh of the bones

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

·        Chop 2 frozen chicken thighs (always from Tyson Farms in Alabama)

·        Place chicken parts in large pot and boil

·        After the chicken is cooked, dump out all the chicken broth

·        Refill the pot with new water

·        Add soy sauce and salt

·        When the water comes to a boil, add chopped onions at the last second and immediately turn off the stove

FANCY STEAK DINNER

·        Open can of Corned Beef

·        Plop the cold mush on a plate of rice

MILK MIXER

·        6 cups of warm water

·        1 cup of sugar

·        3 ounces of evaporated condensed milk product in a tin can

·        Mix together and enjoy!

RAMEN SNACK

·        Open a 25 cent packet of Korean ramen

·        Pour the salt pouch into the packet

·        Pour Cool-Aid mix in the ramen packet

·        Smash the bag with your hands and break the ramen into little pieces

·        Don’t add water

·        Eat like chips

TUNA DELIGHT

·        Open a can of tuna and dump all contents along with the oil into a bowl

·        Pour soy sauce and salt into the bowl

·        Make balls of rice with your hands and dip them into the tuna grease

·        If oil is left over after the tuna bits are gone, drink the oil

LUNCHEON LOAF

·        Open can of machined processed luncheon meat stuff (SPAM)

·        Cut into slices

·        Enjoy cold or fried

CUP OF COFFEE

·        Fill a cup with boiling water

·        Add half a tablespoon of instant coffee mix

·        Stir in 6 full tablespoons of sugar

·        Add two tablespoons of powdered creamer

·        Drink at anytime of the day, even if its 95 degrees outside