Huli Huli Hawaiian Chicken & Fried Rice

Huli Huli Hawaiian Chicken is marinated in a sticky sweet spicy sauce and served with fried rice.  It’s no secret that I looove all things Hawaiian. I loved trips to Hawaii so much as a kid that I asked for a giant beach mural to hang on my bedroom wall and never took it down... My little midwest tropical abode even had a matching beach themed comforter at one point.

But let’s discuss this Huli Huli Hawaiian chicken, because it’s one of a kind. My dad taught me the recipe and boy does he know how to make a delicious Huli Huli marinade. The sauce has powerful complimentary flavors of garlic, ginger, pineapple, soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, brown sugar, honey and ketchup.

Stir this beautiful glaze together and patiently marinate your chicken. You want the chicken to absorb as many of the flavors as it can. As the chicken cooks, the brown sugar will caramelize and thicken, which intensifies its taste. The depth of flavor these simple pantry ingredients add to chicken is truly incredible.

Huli in Hawaiian actually translates to “turn” because this “turn turn chicken” is traditionally prepared on a rotisserie (or frequently turned on a grill over wood chips) and basted with huli huli sauce.

While I love the extra-crispy charred wood grill flavors that traditional huli huli Hawaiian chicken has, I wanted to see how it would taste prepared indoors on a cold and rainy day. I used cast iron skillet heated over high heat to get a little char and then popped it in the oven to finish cooking. Eating this chicken tasted like a trip to Hawaii (little exaggeration, but you get it).

How to make Huli Huli Hawaiian Chicken Marinade:

{printable version with measurements below}

• Combine the brown sugar, ketchup, low sodium soy sauce, chicken broth, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, sriracha, pineapple juice, honey and rice wine vinegar in a bowl.
• Place chicken in a large container and combine with marinade. Turn chicken to make sure it's all coated then seal the container with lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. *This is also when I prepare the white rice to fry the following day so it has time to chill.

• Once chicken is marinated and ready, preheat oven to 425° and heat a cast iron skillet over high heat.
• When cast-iron skillet is hot, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and begin placing chicken into the pan and cover with lid. Cook without moving for about 2 minutes to get a nice char. Once a nice golden skin and char begins to form remove and place on a lined baking sheet. Spoon huli huli marinade over each piece and put it in the oven until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165° (time varies based on size and type of chicken. Check it's temperature after about 15 minutes in the oven).

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• Add remainder of the huli huli marinade to a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. When the sauce starts to boil turn heat down to low but keep it simmering and stir occasionally. Brown sugar will begin to caramelize and sauce will start to reduce and thicken slightly. **It's critical that the marinade reaches a rolling boil at about 212°F because it made contact with raw chicken. Check and be sure that the temperature rises above 200°F.
• Once sauce and chicken have reached the right temperature remove from heat, coat in sauce and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting into it.

How to Make Fried Rice:

• Combine rice and water in a sauce pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. When it begins to boil reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff rice (if rice still too tough at the end of cooking time, add 1-2 tbsp. of water, stir, cover and cook for a couple more minutes).
• Heat large skillet over high heat and when it's hot, pour in canola oil (olive or vegetable oil will also work). Add carrots, red pepper, jalapeno, garlic and ginger. Cook until ingredients begin to soften and become fragrant. From there, add peas and stir.

• Crack in eggs, stirring quickly to scramble eggs with vegetables. Stir in cooked rice. Shake in soy sauce, and toss rice to coat. Drizzle with sesame oil, and toss again.
• Push veggies to one side of skillet, add butter and crack in eggs to scramble. Once scrambled, mix together. From there, add in cooked rice. Gradually add in soy sauce and sesame oil and continue stirring until it evenly coats the rice.
• Serve fried rice warm with huli huli Hawaiian chicken and top with a little extra sauce.

EAT & ENJOY!

If you’re looking for some other delicious recipes? Check these out!

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Looking for MORE recipes? Don’t worry, I gotchu. Try sesame soy roasted edamame, sea salt caramel apple [oatmeal] cookies, perfect Fall pumpkin muffins, or my favorite pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling!

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