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Posts tagged ‘char siu’

Mar 12

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Char Siu Experiment, Hoisin Pork Results


Last week I posted a one-off with a photo of some char siu chicken legs we had in Kauai. I don’t know what the secret to char siu is aside from the red food coloring, but I’m determined to crack it. I went to Uwajimaya yesterday to check out the jarred and packet marinades and see what was in those, but the plan was to make the marinade myself. So, while some Chowhounders said there’s no way a restaurant uses ketchup and hoisin, an old recipe in the Honolulu Star Bulletin said different.
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Mar 6

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Photo One-Off: Char Siu Chicken Legs

There are a million reasons to want to live in Hawaii — sunny days, sandy beaches, great surfing. I’m adding these char siu chicken legs to the list. Thanks to the melting pot of cultures in Hawaii, Foodland, a local grocery store chain, offers pre-marinated char siu drumsticks in the meat department. These are definitely in the, “Why didn’t I think of that?” category. You know char siu pork is good, so why not char siu chicken legs?

Yes, they’re that terrifying red dye #5 color, but they’re delicious. These drumsticks come already marinated (at least overnight, I’d say, since the color sinks in as far as the first bite), and I baked them for 30-35 minutes at 400F and broiled them for another 3-5. It doesn’t look like Foodland divulges their recipe, so it could be as simple as a bottled marinade. It looks like I’ve got a little experimenting to do.