Shoyu Chicken

This summer, the man friend and I went to Hawaii. One of the first days we were there, we were wondering around trying to find the Honolulu Zoo. We had already been to the Waikiki Aquarium and spent a couple hours there. My boyfriend grew up in Hawaii, and had a vague recollection of where the zoo was. An hour later, I finally look over my shoulder and see a giraffe peering over at me! Last I heard, giraffes were not free roaming in Honolulu, and concluded that we MUST have found the zoo!


By this time, we were both starving and were in need of a good meal. We walked opposite of the zoo and stumbled upon one of Hawaii’s older plate lunch establishments, Rainbow Drive-In. Here, I had my first taste of Shoyu Chicken. It was one of the daily specials and my boyfriend recommended it as something that I “would probably like.” Needless to say, I feel in love with it, and the Rainbow Drive-In. It was the only place that I requested to eat at twice while we were there, and bought a t-shirt to go with my Combo Plate (which you can read about on the link above). And yes, I ate every single last bite. So ono!!!!!!!
Photography by Bryan

Recipe:

1 fryer (or bonless skinless chicken thighs)

3/4 cup shoyu
1 T. honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 cup water
2 T chopped fresh ginger root
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 star anise (Can use anise seeds or anise extract. Seeds seem to be a little less powerful. Or just omit all together.)
1/4 c. green onions, cut in 1/2 inch lengths
2 T. Sherry

Mix:

2T. cornstarch
4T water

Combine all ingredients (except chicken and Mix) in large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer 2 minutes. Add chicken and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove chicken.

Add mixture of cornstarch and water to gravy, bring to boil and simmer for 1 minute. Pour over chicken.

**NOTES** The mix is not quite thick enough for my tastes, as I like a thicker sauce. Experiment with this and adjust to better suit your style. Also, it has been said that this meal is best made with Aloha brand shoyu from Hawaii. We’ve only made it with Aloha, as we have a ton of it. Soon, I’ll do a Pepsi challenge between it and Kikkoman and let you know the winner!