Huli Huli Chicken – you can’t miss the tropical flavours in this Hawaiian chicken dish! A pineapple marinade with plenty of fresh ginger and garlic injects sweet-savoury flavour and makes for an excellent glaze. Brilliant BBQ grilled or pan seared.
Serve it up with a side of pineapple rice or macaroni salad as you hula dance your way to the table (you won’t be able to help it! 🤷🏻♀️)
Huli Huli Chicken – tropical food!
There’s just no chance that you cook this without doing a little hula dance.
It’s the vibe. It’s the smell. It’s the satisfying dripping, shiny glaze, the caramelised edges, the anticipation of the smiles and sheer happiness on the faces of those fortunate enough to eat this.
This is just the sort of food that just makes everyone happy! Tropical food has that way about it, don’t you think??
So just give in to the temptation – and swish those hips!!
“Huli” means “turn” in Hawaiian, and refers to the traditional method of cooking this with a grilling basket, turning it over hot coals.
Hawaiian Huli Huli chicken marinade
This tropical recipe is all about the marinade – and there’s two key secret ingredients here:
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pineapple juice – for tropical flavour and sweet. Tip: use the juice from canned pineapple slices, and use the pineapple for garnish, as pictured! Must use long shelf life pineapple juice, not fresh – see note below; and
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sherry – or Chinese cooking wine or Mirin. I’ve made it with and without – with knocks it out of the park. Don’t skip it! (Non alcoholic sub – chicken stock. Yup, really.)
IMPORTANT NOTE about pineapple juice: do not use fresh pineapple juice sold in the fridge, or puree your own using fresh pineapple. Fresh pineapple contains a strong natural tenderiser that will make your chicken way too soft. That natural chemical (called bromelain) is killed in the process of preparing pineapple juice for long shelf life, so use any form of pineapple juice sold in aisles (ie not in fridge) – juice of canned, vac packed juice (poppers or similar) or bottles.
How long to marinade chicken
3 hours is the bare minimum, but you’ll be most rewarded with 24 hours – even up to 48 hours – so the marinade really gets into the chicken flesh.
However, if you don’t have the time, 3 hours is enough to get the flavour infusion started, then just do extra generous basting.
How to make Huli Huli Chicken
Nothing groundbreaking here – marinade the chicken, reserve some for basting, cook the chicken on the BBQ or stove, basting frequently so you get a lovely glaze.
Why reserve for basting? For hygiene reasons – because the marinade gets tainted with raw chicken. You can baste using the used marinade, but you have to cook the basted side for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes after each baste. Which, for this particular recipe, doesn’t work because we want to baste-flip-baste-flip frequently. (Same for any other chicken marinade you want to baste frequently, like the Honey Soy Chicken I shared last week).
Tropical sides for Huli Huli Chicken!
Here’s a few suggestions for on-theme dishes to serve on the side. Think – fresh, juicy, lime, coconut, mango, colourful! (Tip: Thai and Vietnamese flavours are very suited to Tropical theme menus)
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Pineapple fried rice from last week – which I actually shared in anticipation of this recipe. Not only is it tropical, you can use the juice from a can of pineapple pieces to make this recipe, and the pineapple to make the rice. Though in this case, I use a can of pineapple slices – juice for the marinade, grilled the slices for garnish, as pictured.
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More starchy sides – Coconut lime rice, Prawn mango summer salad (skip the prawns if you want),
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Corn avocado salad, grilled corn, Cowboy bean salad, vermicelli noodle salad, cucumber salad
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Warm weather favourites – potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni
And lastly, just in case you’re eyeing off this Huli Huli chicken in anticipation of a big tropical feast, here are a few desserts and drink suggestions!
Dessert ideas
Cocktails for Tropical Parties!
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Huli Huli Chicken (Tropical Hawaiian chicken)
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg / 3 lb chicken thighs (or breast, Note 1)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Marinade:
- 3/4 cup pineapple juice, canned or bottled (NOT FRESH!) , unsweetened (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tbsp ginger , freshly grated (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tbsp garlic , freshly grated (Note 3)
- 1/2 cup tomato ketchup (or Aussie tomato sauce)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sherry or Chinese cooking wine (Note 4)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil , toasted
Garnishes, optional:
- Sliced green onion
- Pineapple slices , grilled for 3 minutes on each side for lines
Instructions
Marinade:
- Mix marinade, set aside 3/4 cup (185 ml) for basting.
- Pour the rest over the chicken in a glass or ceramic container (not metal or plastic), coat chicken then marinade 24 - 48 hours.
Cooking:
- Brush BBQ grills with oil then preheat to medium high, or heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
- Drain excess marinade from chicken, place on BBQ/skillet.
- Cook the first side for 2 - 3 minutes until golden (adjust heat if browning too fast), then flip and cook for 2 minutes.
- Baste (dab) generously with reserved marinade, then flip and cook for 1 minute.
- Repeat this every minute or so for a total cook time of 10 minutes, or until internal temp in the thickest part registers 75°C/167°F (for thigh) or 65°C / 150°F (for breast).
- Transfer chicken to a plate, loosely cover with foil and rest for 3 minutes before serving, garnished with green onion if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
There was just never going to be any other photo for today’s recipe. 😂
why is it not recommended to use a plastic container for marinating?
Thanks for the lovely recipe!
In place of Chinese cooking wine, can I use Mirin / Sake?
I cooked this for a crowd on the weekend and served with your Pineapple fried rice. Really yummy and everyone loved it 😍
Perfect Kerry!!! N x
Quite possibly the best chicken I have ever made! The results were beyond outstanding! Do yourself a favor and make this! I did marinate for the recommended 48 hours and it was worth it. Served this with the pineapple fried rice from this site and everyone devoured both!
Perfect Christy, sounds like you absolutely nailed it!! N x
Hi both, if to be cooked in the oven, at what temp and for how long should I cook it for please? Thanks so much!
Not BBQ weather here in the UK at present so I made this in the oven and finished it off under the grill.
It was a huge success and I’ll be making it again!
Made it with Nagi’s pineapple fried rice
Perfect Bronwen!! N x
I want to make this into. Kebob with pineapples and other veggies. Would you have any advice for that alternative idea? I hope it would taste just as delicious?
Amazing. I was asked to make this for my friends wedding in Maui. I didn’t think it would be much different than other chicken on the grill, but I was wrong. Wilmont, a local musician said it was as good of not better than his family recipe. High praise indeed.
Delicious. I have made twice now. The second time I forgot to reserve some marinade so I didn’t baste, i cooked in a cast iron skillet on the stove while making the pineapple fried rice. I didn’t have a mess as some others have experienced (well no more than usual 😂) The chicken was still amazing which I served in a large dish on top of the fried rice. It looked as good as it tasted and the chicken flavour mixing through the rice was absolutely delicious. Thanks Nagi 👌
I have tried huli huli chicken before and wasn’t happy with the result. This recipe was perfect. I do prefer bone in chicken, so I marinated skinless bone in thighs for 24 hours in a glass baking dish. I made a lot of marinade so I would have plenty extra to baste with. My husband cooked them on the gas grill for about 22 minutes, turning and basting every 3 minutes to keep them moist. I also heated up leftover marinade that we didn’t use to baste and passed it around as a sauce. Amazing flavors. I also wanted to say that I search on line for recipes all the time. I started noticing that the ones that always came out consistently great, were ones that were from tin eats. Now, when I am looking for a recipe to use all the lovely produce I get at the farmers market, I go to tin eats first. Thank you Nagi.
Hi Nagi. I see limes in the photo, but not in the recipe. Are they just for the photo?
Hi Lo – just for the photographs here 🙂 N x
Ah, the limes do make for a nice photo. I’ve made this recipe several times and it is always a hit. Thank you!