Shoyu chicken is such a local staple that every cook has their own way of making it. But no matter what little bits are changed, the basics are the same that results in tender chicken with a delicious sauce that’s so ono over rice.
This recipe is called Shoyu Chicken No. 2 because it’s the second shoyu chicken recipe in a book from the Honpa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple called Favorite Island Cookery. It was printed in 1973 and is the first in a series of 6 recipe books. Amazingly enough, this first book is the smallest in the collection with only 142 pages. Book III is the largest and has 280 pages.
The original print of this book has different colored pages to help sort out the various categories of recipes. That helps when taking the book out and needing to flip to a specific section. If there are category pages with artwork, my book doesn’t have those since it’s a well-loved copy I thrifted. There are grease splatters on some pages, showing it went into the kitchen often. The book also has pages with household tips and conversions that are common in a lot of these recipe collection books.
The recipe stood out to me because there are only a few ingredients and a relatively short cooking time. It’s also similar to how my mom makes shoyu chicken, so it felt nostalgic to me. If you add some blanched or stir-fried veggies to your plate with rice, you’ve got a complete meal put together in about an hour.
Foodie Friday is a segment in the Akamai Recap newsletter that's a place to talk story and connect over food. If you have a favorite recipe or food-centric memory you’d like to share, feel free to send them via email to pclay@hawaiipublicradio.org
