Ginger Mochiko Chicken
Although not specifically a type of fried chicken, ginger chicken is a regional dish from Kauai made with a large punch of sauce marinade and ginger that is similar to other Hawaii fried chicken dishes. The chicken is fried along side other dishes like fried wontons and fried shrimp or vegetables. Ginger Mochiko came from households looking for a budget food of their favorite eateries dishes like the famed Hanamaulu Cafe which comes from...you guessed it! Hanamaulu Ginger Chicken of the Hanamaulu area. After collecting stories of those who take pride in the memory of the dish I was able to see similarities in some of the old recipe cards. While there is not a lot of variation there are some that are similar in particular areas in which they enjoyed a certain seasoning in their ginger fried chicken. They were within the areas of Hanamaulu, Kapaa, Hanapepe, and Poipu. Ginger Fried Chicken is apart of the food history of Kauai. Many have made it in variations of corn starch and all purpose flour and more popular these days is mochiko flour. When there is a more crunchy taste that is wanted by eaters the cook will often times use buttermilk which is not traditional at all. The sugar that is in the dish creates a nice crispy fry shell around the chicken. Hanamaulu Ginger Mochiko Chicken is still sold by Konohiki Seafoods. The dish includes in its recipe list: vegetable oil, sesame seed oil, grated ginger, garlic, alaea salt, sugar, shoyu, white vinegar, mirin, and oyster sauce. It comes from the 1920s and is a very old recipe that would be sold by the box with many people still craving the crispy and gingery taste. When many old timers think of the classic Kauai style Fried chicken there is none other than the famed Hanamaulu originator. Kapaa Ginger Mochiko Chicken, has one of the older recipes that makes use of brandy and brown sugar which is distinct from other recipes of the ginger fried chicken. Families that had extra saved ginger in sake filled glass bottles to preserve the flavor would use up the ginger in their marinades. The flavor would have more bite with a higher amount of vinegar than other variations. It has sesame seed oil, grated ginger, garlic, kosher salt, brown sugar, white vinegar, brandy, shoyu, and oyster sauce. Hanapepe Ginger Mochiko Chicken, back in the day there were many families from Japan that ran their stores. Many of the families would have to save money and chicken was not always available and neither was mirin due to how expensive it was, so sugar was used instead. This recipe uses mirin as a modern luxury that was not available in the olden days due to how expensive the mirin was on Kauai. The marinade was made of equal parts shoyu sugar, sake, mirin, sushi vinegar, konbu, shoyu, and oyster sauce. Poipu Mochiko Chicken (aka Spicy Mochiko Chicken, or Haole Mochiko Chicken), a place that used many foreign ingredients to make their variation of Ginger Mochiko Chicken would be a recipe found from Poipu area where many tourists flock to. What sets it apart is the use of soaking in mayonnaise before it is mixed with seasonings and set to marinate overnite. The marinade uses: paprika and/or hawaiian chili peppers, hot sauce, grated ginger, garlic, black pepper, alaea salt, oyster sauce, shoyu, sesame seed oil, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and whiskey.
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