Huli Huli Chicken

Cuisine: Hawaiian

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2

Tender chicken thighs are marinated in a sweet and tangy ketchup and soy sauce before grilling for a bit of char.

2 chicken breasts cut into eight pieces
1 cup pineapple juice (unsweetened)
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup ketchup
¼ cup sherry
One-piece fresh ginger, crushed
Three cloves garlic, crushed
Four green onions, chopped
¼ teaspoon dry mustard

One can’t miss the tropical flavours in this Hawaiian chicken dish!

Combine soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, sherry, ginger, ketchup, garlic, green onions, and dry mustard in a bowl. Stir until the brown sugar is dissolved. Place the chicken in the bowl and massage the chicken to coat it with the marinade evenly. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours before serving.
Preheat the oven to 425°F and place an oven rack 6 inches away from the heat source.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and set it skin side up on a pan.
Bake chicken for 30 to 45 minutes, flipping every 10 minutes until browned on both sides and juices run clear in a preheated oven. Baste with the remaining marinade after each flip. If you insert an instant-read meat thermometer into the thickest piece of chicken without touching the bone, the temperature should read 165°F.

Chef Tip: Marinating the chicken for 3 hours is the minimum, but 24 hours – even 48 hours – will ensure that the marinade penetrates the chicken flesh completely.

Lip-smacking Huli Huli Chicken! Combine it with jasmine rice and pineapple to make the perfect summer supper.

Quick Bites

Fun Fact

Huli’ means ‘turn’ in Hawaiian and legend has it that the name comes from the fact that its creator, Ernest Morgado, made it by cooking the soy-marinated chicken between two grills, turning the grills on their sides to do so.

Historical Fact

• The creator, Morgado liked the name ‘huli huli’ so much that he registered the trademark with the Territory of Hawaii in 1958 and the federal government in 1965.

Nutrition Fact

• A serving of huli huli chicken contains 40% carbs, 48% protein and 12% fat, and 156 calories. Activities that can burn the calories in 23 minutes of cycling, 15 minutes of running, and 57 minutes of cleaning.