My niece is getting married today – on Guam!! I wish I could be by her side, but am with her and her new husband, who is stationed there with the Air Force, in spirit. She writes:
Okay, sweetie, if it’s windy, stay away from the edge! I knew nothing about Guam, except that it is, in effect, one big military base. But, as is always the case, there is an indiginous people and culture. Wikipedia says of Guam:
“The Chamorros, Guam’s indigenous people, first populated the island approximately 4,000 years ago. The island has a long history of European colonialism…The island was controlled by Spain until 1898, when it was surrendered to the United States during the Spanish-American War and later formally ceded as part of the Treaty of Paris.”
And the food? Also per Wikipedia, Chamorro cuisine is largely based on corn, and includes tortillas, tamales, atole and chilaquiles – showing the hispanic/Mexican influence. And of course, a lot of Asian influences have appeared too, so it would seem that the Island is an ethnic food lover’s paradise, aside from the whole tropical beach scene. What you see here is Saipao, from a Guam food blog. To me, it looks like a Chinese bun with a Hispanic beef filling! (Read more about blogger Paula Ann Lujan Quinene and her Guam cookbook, here.)
While my niece has always loved the idea of a tropical paradise, she is not an adventurous eater, so I’ll be curious to see if she brings home any new culinary “Likes” from her month on Guam!
NJ SPICE 