Huli Huli Chicken and Li Hing powder… are not terms that the average consumer of food would know. However, if you have ever been to Hawaii you are probably very familiar with Huli Huli.

WHAT IS HULI HULI CHICKEN

If you have visited Hawaii, you probably have seen the food stands on the road selling chicken. Huli Huli is the dish they are selling. Huli Huli from my understanding means “Turn – Turn”. So Huli Huli refers to a rotisserie-style cooking method. It is important to remember this as the ingredients in this dish include sugar, so it’s necessary to turn the chicken so it does not burn.

WHAT IS LI HING MUI

You can find Li Hing Mui as a snack, a powder, or as a “dusting” on candies such as gummy bears. It means salty dried plum. The base of my marinade could be described as a Hawaiian version of a”teriyaki” sauce. The powder was an experiment to see how the salty-sweet-sour would match with the rest of the sauce.

First I added the powder to the marinade. I also dusted the chicken at the end of the grilling to emphasize the flavor of the Li Hing. The taste was great and I would not hesitate to use it again when using a teriyaki based sauce.

If you are in the mood to experiment and your taste buds are wanting a salty sweet version for a chicken dish, go online and find some Li Hing. If you happen to be in Las Vegas, you can find Li Hing at the Beef Jerky Store in Downtown Vegas. They have a giant inventory of Hawaiian and Asian snacks and treats.

As always, thanks for Spending Time In My Kitchen!

Huli Huli Chicken Topped with Li Hing Powder!

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Recipe by David Frank – Spending Time In My Kitchen

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Marinade time

hours

Ingredients

Marinade Ingredients
1/3 Cup 1/3 Ketchup
1/3 Cup 1/3 Tamari soy sauce
1/3 Cup 1/3 Brown sugar
1/4 Cup 1/4 Pineapple juice
1/4 Cup 1/4 Rice vinegar
1 Tbl 1 Siracha
2 Tbl 2 Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbl 1 Sesame oil
2 tsp 2 Li Hing powder
2 Tbl 2 Garlic, fresh minced
1 Tbl 1 Ginger, fresh minced
Other Ingredients
2 lbs 2 Boneless chicken breasts or thighs
2 2 Scallions, sliced on the bias to garnish

Directions

Place marinade ingredients into a large bowl and whisk until totally combined.
Place chicken pieces into marinade, cover the bowl and let sit in the fridge for a max of 10 hours. 3 hours minimum.
Take chicken out of the bowl and pat dry.
Take marinade ingredients and place into a sauce pot. Put on top of the stove and turn heat on high until the sauce starts to boil. Take sauce off the heat. Sauce is now safe to use as a glaze on the chicken.
Grilling the Chicken
This recipe is perfect for using your charcoal grill. Make sure you are starting with a clean grill. Slightly oil down the grates and preheat them about 5 to 10 minutes before you add the chicken. I like to use a “chimney” to heat my coals. It does a great job of preparing my coals so that they heat evenly.
Place chicken pieces bottom first on the grill for about 5 minutes. (Especially if you are using skin on-bone in chicken pieces.)
Flip again after another 5 minutes. This is where you have to watch your chicken. I started to brush my glaze on the chicken at this point.
Almost every couple minutes after the first glaze, I would turn the chicken and re-glaze. You need to give your chicken a good “huli huli”! When getting towards the end of the cook, dust your chicken with the Li Hing powder.
When the internal temperature of your chicken hits 165°, pull from the fire.
As always, whenever cooking beef, chicken or pork, let your meat rest so the juices can stabilize and not run out when you cut into them.
Time to plate your Huli Huli! Add a little green onion as garnish. Enjoy!!

Notes

It’s very important to have a clean grill when you cook. Food will stick if your grill grates are not cleaned appropriately. Wipe down the grates with an oil that can withstand higher heat such as canola or grapeseed oil. Make sure you huli-huli your chicken! You don’t want to have your chicken stick to the grates because of the sugar content of your glaze.