The month of May sees guests at our ranch every weekend. This last month we were very busy, but we were especially busy this last week. We had to get though The Punch List for the first weekend of guests. Well, we did, but I tell you not much else got done. Among the many things we did: finished re-building the main house perimeter fence and sell a horse. The horse sale was not part of the guest preparations, but it further complicated what we already had on our plate.
So I’m all tapped out for this week. You know how it is. Sometimes you just need to kick back and take a breather so I’m going to offer my Aunt LuVerne’s Grilled Teriyaki Chicken recipe for this week’s blog. It’s very easy and about 300 times better than store bought.
Aunt LuVerne’s Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
I learned this recipe from my mother’s younger sister LuVerne. She’s 94 years young now and lives in Honolulu. When I was 18, I lived with her for a time and learned this recipe. Aunt LuVerne took to Island Life and many good things came out of it. This is one of them. And, as is many times the case, we never measure anything exactly so the proportions here are approximate. It always manages to come out just right.
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (you can also use boneless skinless chickens thighs, or if you don’t care about the fat or like the taste just use the skin-on bone-in)
1 cup low-sodium soy sauce (regular is fine, too, and that’s what I learned with)
1 cup white wine (sweet or dry, it doesn’t matter
3 scallions, chopped (or 1 teaspoon onion powder)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger (or a couple teaspoons dried if that’s all you have)
2 tablespoons white sugar (I’ve never tried it, but I think honey would work nicely too)
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
Combine all ingredients. In a glass bowl, add chicken and marinade. Let marinate a couple hours or more depending on how strong you like the flavor. Turn the pieces of chicken from time to time so the marinade coats evenly.
When the chicken is marinated to your satisfaction (the pieces will get a nice light brown color) discard the marinade and grill as you normally would. I like brown rice, steamed carrots, asparagus or a green salad on the side.
Aloha lui noa!
Photo: Fotolia/Road King
