.jpg) Huli-huli chicken skewers | |
| Course | entrée |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Hawaii |
| Created by |
|
| Invented | 1955; 71 years ago (1955) |
| Main ingredients | chicken, pineapple, ginger, soy sauce |
| Ingredients generally used | ketchup, sugar, sesame oil, garlic |
Huli-huli chicken is a grilled chicken dish inHawaiian cuisine, prepared by barbecuing a chicken on arevolving spit (inHawaiian:hulihulireduplicated fromhuli 'turn'[1]) overmesquite wood, andbasting it with a sweethuli-huli sauce.[2]
In 1954,Ernest Morgado, anaval intelligence officer duringWorld War II, and Mike Asagi, a chicken farmer, founded the Pacific Poultry Company inʻEwa, Hawaii. The next year, at a meeting with farmers, Morgado and Asagi first barbecued chicken in ateriyaki-like sauce, Morgado's mother's recipe.[3][4][5] After seeing its popularity, Morgado began cooking huli-huli chicken at fundraisers. Millions of dollars have been raised over the years for charities by selling huli-huli chicken, according to Morgado's stepson.[3] Fundraisers at churches and schools selling huli-huli chicken were common around Hawaii for many years.[6]
As the dish was originally made on a grill with a makeshiftspit, onlookers shoutedhuli ("turn" in Hawaiian) when the chickens were to be rotated, cooking andbasting the other side.[7][8] Morgado, through the Pacific Poultry Company, trademarked "huli-huli" in 1967.[7][9]
Morgado became famous with his huli-huli chicken recipe. He served on the Hawaii Board of Agriculture,[10] was appointed honoraryvice consul ofPortugal,[11] and was awarded the Honolulu Portuguese Chamber of Commerce's "Council's Cup" in 1981.[3] Later, beginning in 1986, Morgado bottled and sold huli-huli sauce in stores.[3][7]
Today, huli-huli chicken can be found around Hawaii, in restaurants, road-side stands, mini-marts and drive-ins.[12][13] At many locations, chicken are cooked on racksen masse and sold.[14]
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Morgado never released his huli-huli sauce recipe, though other chefs have made approximations.[7]
Most recipes call for a glaze or sauce with ingredients includingpineapple juice,ketchup,soy sauce,honey orbrown sugar,sesame oil,ginger, andgarlic.[2][7][8][15] Some recipes may call forlemon juice,Worcestershire sauce,Sriracha[8] orred pepper flakes,[7]rice wine orsherry vinegar,[15]chicken broth,white wine, ormustard.[16] Some recipes call forbrining the chicken in a solution withkosher salt, sugar,bay leaves, garlic,[15]sesame oil, orthyme,[17] before marinating it in the sauce.
The chicken can be cooked on a grill or arotisserie. While cooking, it is regularly basted with the glaze, and turned over ("huli-ed").[17]Mesquite (kiawe) wood chips are traditionally used to add a smoky flavor.[2]
