DINNER HAWAIIAN STYLE

One of our favorite things we ate while in Hawaii was Huli-Huli Chicken. It's chicken grilled on roadside trailers. I would describe it as the Hawaiian version of barbecue chicken.

My husband and I bought some of this chicken one day driving back from snorkeling. Man, was it good! We've always talked about it. Yesterday I was telling my mom about it and she suggested that I look up a recipe on the internet. I didn't think I would find it, but I did. I also found out the back story on Huli-Huli chicken.

Huli is the Hawaiian word for turn. Huli-Huli literally means Turn-Turn. In 1955 a version of teriyaki chicken was grilled for a farmer's gathering. It was such a hit that the sauce was trademarked and you can still buy the bottled sauce today. I found a couple versions on the internet, and I tweaked it a little to come up with this recipe:

Huli Chicken

1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup honey
1-2 inch piece ginger root
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes
Juice from a fresh lemon

Mix all ingredients together, crushing the garlic and ginger. Marinade a whole chicken for a few hours to overnight. I put the chicken in an oven bag so I can shake the chicken around to make sure it gets covered with the sauce. Reserve some mixture for basting.

Cook chicken on a grill. The trick to cooking the entire chicken is to cook it on indirect heat. If you are using a charcoal grill push the charcoal to one side. If you are using a gas grill only turn on one side. The other trick to this is to cook the chicken directly on the grill (no tin foil). Turn the chicken every-so-often basting with the mixture. Chicken is done when the juices run clear. For a four pound chicken cooking time should be about one hour and fifteen minutes.

We went to a luau while in Hawaii and they had some fantastic side dishes. Here is an easy one I made:

Chicken Long Rice

2 pounds chicken thighs
3 cups water
3 cups chicken broth
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 clove crushed garlic

2 cubes chicken bouillon

4 bundles long rice (soak in warm water till soft)

(Long rice is also known as cellophane noodles.)

Place all ingredients except rice in pot. Bring to a boil then simmer 45minutes or until tender. Remove chicken and bone and shred. Keep the broth. Cut long rice in 4 inch lengths, add to broth then boil for 15 minutes. Add shredded chicken. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt, pepper, or soy sauce. Makes about 12 servings.

I didn't have long rice, so I used two boxes of Rice-a-roni without the season packets and it turned out fantastic.

We also had this dessert when we went to the luau.

Haupia

12 ounces chilled coconut milk

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup + 2 T. sugar
1/2 cup + 2 T. cornstarch

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and stir over medium heat until thickened. Lower heat and cook for ten minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into 8x8 inch dish and chill until set. Cut into squares & serve.

Enjoy!