Huli Huli Marinade is an intense sweet and savory teriyaki-style sauce popular in Hawaii that is made with brown cane sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and other aromatics. It is used to marinade chicken or pork which is often cooked on a rotisserie and always over an open fire as pictured to the right ("huli" means "turn" in Hawaiian - although the name comes from the fact that its creator, Ernest Morgado, made it by cooking the chicken between two grills, turning the grills to do so). I find that the sauce is so tasty that it more than makes up for anything lacking in a regular single home grill.
Feel free to play around with the sauce. I like to add a kick of red pepper flakes or hot sauce where it most certainly is not traditional! This recipe is enough for 1 large or 2 small chickens or about 5 - 6 lbs. of chicken pieces (see a specific recipe for Huli Huli Chicken here) or a similar amount of pork. It doubles and even triples just fine if you have a large party or luau in mind.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. dry sherry
- 2 Tbsp. ketchup
- 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce (optional)
- Red pepper flakes (I use 1/4 tsp.) or hot sauce to taste (optional)
Preparation:
- Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, sherry, and ketchup in medium bowl. Peel and mince or grate the ginger and the garlic and add them to the sauce. Add the sesame oil, Worchestershire, and/or pepper flakes or hot sauce, if you like.
- In a large bowl or sealable plastic bags, marinate the chicken(s) or pork for at least an hour and up to overnight.
- Grill the meat, using the remaining marinade as a basting sauce (just be sure the meat cooks for at least 15 minutes after the final time you baste it or you bring the sauce to a boil to kill any food-borne bacteria.
