country Essentials · 9 foods

Northern Mariana Islands Essentials

A considered first route through Northern Mariana Islands: the foods that carry its everyday habits, celebrations, ingredients, and memory.

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The complete shortlist

9 foods to know.

Each selection includes the reason it belongs here—so this is a guide, not just a pile of names.

Guam

Kelaguen Kå'tne

Chamorro kelaguen combines diced meat or seafood, lemon, coconut, onion, and donne’ pepper.

Guam

Hineksa' Aga'ga'

Annatto-tinted rice anchors Chamorro fiesta plates across the Northern Mariana Islands.

Guam

Soy, vinegar, citrus, onion, and donne’ pepper make this all-purpose Chamorro table condiment.

Guam

Kåddun Pika

Spicy chicken or pork simmers with soy, vinegar, garlic, and donne’ peppers.

Guam

Tinaktak

Ground beef cooks in coconut milk with green beans and tomatoes for a creamy Chamorro stew.

Guam

Eskabeche — fried fish in a vinegar-based sauce with vegetables; a Chamorro seafood staple.

Guam

Apigigi'

Grated cassava and young coconut grill in banana leaves as a sticky Chamorro fiesta sweet.

Guam

Lantiya — sponge cake with vanilla custard and cinnamon; the Chamorro-Spanish fiesta cake of the CNMI.

Guam

Grilled Spam on seasoned rice wrapped in nori is a familiar Northern Mariana Islands snack.