.jpg) Huli-huli chicken skewers | |
| Course | entrée |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Hawaii |
| Created by |
|
| Invented | 1955 |
| Main ingredients | chicken, pineapple, ginger, soy sauce |
| Ingredients generally used | ketchup, sugar, sesame oil, garlic |
Huli-huli chicken is a grilled chicken dish in Hawaiian cuisine, prepared by barbecuing a chicken over mesquite wood, and basting it with a sweet huli-huli sauce.[1]
In 1954, Ernest Morgado, a naval intelligence officer during World War II, and Mike Asagi, a chicken farmer, founded the Pacific Poultry Company in 'Ewa, Hawaii. The next year, at a meeting with farmers, Morgado and Asagi first barbecued chicken in a teriyaki-like sauce, Morgado's mother's recipe.[2][3][4] 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.[2] Fundraisers at churches and schools selling huli-huli chicken were common around Hawaii for many years.[5]
Huli is the Hawaiian word for "turn."[6] As the dish was originally made on a grill with a makeshift spit, onlookers shouted "huli" when the chickens were to be rotated, cooking and basting the other side.[7][8] Morgado, through the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 honorary vice consul of Portugal,[11] and was awarded the Honolulu Portuguese Chamber of Commerce's "Council's Cup" in 1981.[2] Later, beginning in 1986, Morgado bottled and sold huli-huli sauce in stores.[2][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 racks en 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 including pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, honey or brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.[1][7][8][15] Some recipes may call for lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Sriracha[8] or red pepper flakes,[7] rice wine or sherry vinegar,[15] chicken broth, white wine, or mustard.[16] Some recipes call for brining the chicken in a solution with kosher salt, sugar, bay leaves, garlic,[15] sesame oil, or thyme,[17] before marinating it in the sauce.
The chicken can be cooked on a grill or a rotisserie. 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.[1]
