Wednesday, August 3, 2016

American Samoa's Breadfruit, Taro, and Garlic Chicken Trio

American Samoa!  This recipe from the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge cookbook comes from Chef Amelie Chen, age 9.  She lives in American Samoa, which is a US Territory. My kids don't really understand what it means to be a US Territory, so this is the perfect lesson to learn more about it!  



We unfortunately didn't get to formally meet Amelie but there are some great articles about her and her award-winning recipe that I was able to find. 




Jude had two of his friends over to play and they all wanted to pitch in to help create this recipe and to learn more about what it means to be a US Territory as well as to know more about the unfamiliar ingredients in her recipe. So - we hit up our local grocery store to find the elusive "taro" and "breadfruit" in the produce isle.  


After a lengthy search for these items, we decided to opt for the substitutions for both - we picked up some parsnips to substitute for the taro and plantains to substitute for the breadfruit.  After leaving our local Hannaford's Grocery Store with a cart full of Amelie's ingredients (or rather, substitutions), we searched online to learn more about these unfamiliar foods.  

According to Wikipedia, the taro corms are "roasted, baked or boiled, and the natural sugars give a sweet nutty flavor. The starch is easily digestible, and since the grains are fine and small it is often used for baby food. Young taro leaves and stems can be eaten after boiling twice to remove the acrid flavor and the leaves are a good source of vitamins A and C and contain more protein than the corms".  They have a similar look to a sweet potato: 


We also found information on Wikipedia about the breadfruit.  This food comes from a tree found in most tropical areas of the world.  "Before being eaten, the fruits are roasted, baked, fried or boiled. When cooked, the taste of moderately ripe breadfruit is described as potato-like, or similar to freshly baked bread."  We used a plantain that the kids described as being a big banana.  Here is what the breadfruit looks like as a whole and sliced: 


Another part of our lesson was to learn about the meaning of a US Territory. We checked out the book "America the Beautiful: U.S. Territories" by Sylvia McNair. There is a difference between U.S. Territories that are organized and unorganized forms of government. While American Samoa is officially unorganized, it is still self-governed and has a government. Citizens of American Samoa are not US citizens, but rather are US Nationals. They may live and work anywhere in the US, but cannot vote should they move to the United States. US Nationals may apply for citizenship as if they were resident aliens but do not have the same restriction for traveling and living in the US.  So, their status, especially when it comes to voting, is a little weird… However, I'm glad that the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge did include the 6 US Territories!  

Now, onto the Amelie's award-winning recipe, Breadfruit, Taro and Garlic Chicken Trio.  First, we gather all of the ingredients:


And utensils at the ready!


I took care of chopping the garlic & marinating the chicken, but all the kids had a role in chopping the broccoli, tomatoes, parsnips & plantains: 





After boiling the parsnips & plantains with the coconut cream, we decided to mash it into a consistency like mashed potatoes.  In addition to this meal, the kids wanted to have a tropical-like drink.  So, we blended together some pineapples, mangos, bananas and low-fat yogurt for a delicious smoothie.  My little lady-bug helped with the blending: 


We enjoyed Amelie's meal outside on the picnic table - it was a huge success!  Thank you Chef Amelie for sharing your American Samoa culture with the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge contest - your recipe was definitely a winner!!  






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