This is arguably the best recipe on this whole website, and possibly the simplest!
1 whole chicken, cooked, cooled, and deboned*
1/2 C finely chopped red onion
4-6 lemons, juiced
1/2 t dried red pepper flakes (or cayenne to taste)
1/2 t salt, or to taste
1/2 C grated fresh coconut (you can substitute flaked baking coconut if that’s all you have — the hint of sweetness doesn’t hurt the salad at all)
1/4 C chopped green onion
Mix all ingredients, chill, and garnish with slices of lemon.
Serve with rice, tortillas, or crackers.
Variations: Use shrimp (Kelaguen Uhang), beef (Kelaguen Katne), or venison (Kelaguen Binadu)
* Where we live, in Seattle, there are these funky barbecue joints in the Chinatown/International District. They cook whole chickens and hang them in the front window for sale. We bought a couple of “soy sauce chickens” for this recipe, and the meat was fabulous — tender, juicy, flavorful. And we didn’t have to cook the chicken! If you don’t have those places, you could either a) buy a whole chicken and roast it yourself (at 450 for about an hour) or b) use a roasted chicken from the grocery store. My Dad recommends the ones at Wal-Mart, but I can’t shop there with a good conscience. He says their chickens are tasty, but I’d be afraid they import them from China with the rest of their merchandise.