Hawaiian Shoyu (soy sauce) chicken!

Island Shoyu Chicken

This is a recipe that holds a special place in my heart.  You see, my husband and I were blessed to live on Oahu for 4 years, and this was the first recipe I found, in a pamphlet the hotel gave us when we arrived!  It is a simple, basic recipe that I adapted to be just a bit healthier.  Every time I taste it, I am transported back to the day we got our household goods, and I cooked for the first time in our house in paradise!

The original recipe calls for triple the brown sugar and soy sauce, and is cooked down with corn starch before marinading, then the chicken is basted during cooking to form a thick barbecue sauce type coating.  This is a much lighter way to get the full delicious flavor, but most of the marinade falls off before baking!

The marinade is pretty basic, and you can add extra flavorings as desired:

3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, chopped

Optional flavorings:

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

really, anything else you want to add!

I build the whole marinade in a zipper bag, to save a bowl, then toss the chicken in, and give it a really good massage to mix and evenly coat.  You can use any cut of chicken you like, but I like to use drumsticks or thighs.  I usually marinade for at least 24 hours, flipping the bag every few hours.

The chicken goes in a greased, high edged glass dish, make sure there is space in between them, or they will just steam.  

Roast the chicken at 450* for about 30 minutes, flipping halfway, until the meat is pulling away from the bone, or the meat is at least 165* in the center.

I love to serve this with a super simple roasted veggie side.  There is so much flavor in this chicken, and it isn't the lightest dish, so something pretty clean and simple is perfect to me!  Hope you can make this your own favorite meal!  Enjoy!