In 1955 Ernest Morgado cooked up a big batch of chicken for a farmer’s group. It had been marinated in his take on classic Japanese teriyaki sauce and painted with the sauce on the grill. Morgado’s chicken was such a hit that by the time he died it had become a signature dish beloved throughout Hawaii, served mostly by shade tree cooks from roadside stands, parking lots, and parks at fundraisers. Drive around Oahu and if you see smoke rising and smell something sweet, it is likely Huli-Huli chicken. The locals keep napkins in their glove compartments just in case they need to stop.
Clearly a pioneer in the concept of branding, Morgado knew that he couldn’t just call his dish “teriyaki chicken”. He needed a unique name for his specialty to fend off competition. Then it came to him while cooking a batch.
Rather than turn scores of chicken pieces one by one when he was catering an event, he sandwiched the meat between two mesh grates and, with the help of an assistant, flipped the whole contraption. Sort of Hawaiian rotisserie. When it was time to turn, he would shout “huli” which is Hawaiian for “turn” to his assistant who would shout “huli” back, grab the handles on the other side of the grates, and turn the chicken over, lickety split. Huli-Huli Chicken was born.
In 1986 he started bottling the gingery soy based sauce, then he trademarked the name, and aggressively began protecting his brand by threatening lawsuits against other cooks using the name huli-huli. But the flavor had momentum and despite his best efforts, the name became generic and there are dozens of huli-huli stands on the island. One of them is shown here in a photograph by my sister-in-law, Theresa Tortorello, a travel agent specializing in Hawaii.
Huli-Huli Sauce was originally a teriyaki sauce, which in Japan, is a simple blend of soy sauce, mirin (a sweet rice wine), and a little sugar reduced to a glaze. But nowadays there are hundreds of variations on the theme. Although Huli-Huli was designed for chicken, it is common to see it on ribs, pork chops, whatever. Morgado’s recipe is a secret, and every vendor on the islands has his or her own spin on it. Here’s my interpretation.
I just have one question: Why are there interstate highways on Hawaii?
Hawaiian Huli-Huli Chicken Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce Recipe
Makes:
Takes:
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup or red barbecue sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup grated fresh ginger (peel it first)
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page
Method
- Mince, press or crush the garlic, then combine it with the remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer gently over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. You can refrigerate it for several weeks.
High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!
Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.
Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.
Post comments and questions below
1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.
2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.
3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.
4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.
5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.
Moderators