Grandma Taguba’s Shoyu Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 pounds chicken thighs
Mix
- 1 cup shoyu
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp mirin (If you don’t have mirin, mix white wine with a little sugar)
Instructions
- Soak chicken 10 to 20 minutes in the mixture, making sure pieces are evenly coated. A large recloseable plastic bag is handy for this.
- Cook over stove, let boil, then turn heat down to medium. Cook 40 to 50 minutes. Let sauce cook down (reduce). If necessary, add chicken stock & cornstarch to thicken.
- Serve over or with rice.
Notes
For even more flavor, let the chicken soak overnight in the refrigerator. We normally use a recloseable plastic bag and turn it a couple of times. If using a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap.
We also often increase the mixture (half-again or even double) so there is plenty for the rice.
Kung Pao Chicken
Ingredients
- ¾ pound chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 4 tbsp soy sauce, divided
- 2 tbsp lemon juice from concentrate
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp extra light olive oil
- 1 small red bell pepper chunked
- ½ small onion chunked
- ¼ cup unsalted roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Combine chicken and 2 tbsp soy sauce, refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Combine remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce, lemon juice from concentrate, sugar, cornstarch, crushed pepper and ¼ cup water.
- In wok or large skillet, stir-fry chicken and garlic in hot oil 3 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture. Cook and stir until slightly thickened.
- Add peanuts and serve.
- Refrigerate leftovers (there probably won't be any!).
Pineapple Bars
Yummy pineapple bars!
Ingredients
- 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 sticks butter or margarine (salted) (12 oz. or 1½ cups) melted & cooled
- 8 eggs, well beaten
- 2 cans plus 2 TBSP crushed pineapple, drained each can is the 8 oz. size
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Mixing the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another and then combining everything works fine but is not necessary. Just make sure that all the ingredients eventually end up in one bowl and are mixed well.
- The original recipe calls for two 8-ounce cans PLUS two tablespoons of crushed pineapple, drained. Feel free to experiment after you have tried the recipe once - you may decide that two cans are enough or that three are better.
- Pour into a greased pan and bake for about 35 minutes at 325° F. or until a "cake tester" comes out clean. A 13"x9"x2" pan works well. Although we've never tried it, a half-size steam table disposable aluminum pan (12-3/4"x10-3/8"x2-1/2") could probably also be used. For a "cake tester", we use a wooden skewer to test for doneness; a toothpick or knife also work fine.
- HIGH ALTITUDE: This recipe works well in Hawaii as written. However, for high altitudes (6,800-feet above sea level in Mike's case), try removing 2 TBSP for each cup of sugar and bake at 350° F. for 45 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Start checking after 40 minutes. As you may be able to see in the photo, the middle of this batch came out wrinkly but still tasted great!
- We usually cut these into 2-inch squares for serving. They can be eaten plain or, as in the photo, dusted with a little confectioners' (powdered) sugar.
