Hawaiian Grilled Chicken
Although this Hawaiian Grilled Chicken recipe has been floating all over the web, this is where it first originated! Similar to Huli-Huli Chicken but with it’s own distinct flavor. You must serve this chicken over coconut rice and grilled pineapple.
HAWAIIAN GRILLED CHICKEN
Back in college our friend Jeff was famous for his Hawaiian grilled chicken that was inspired from some tips from his Hawaiian buddy.
One weekend Jeff threw a big Kirkland (Costco’s brand) BBQ serving only foods with the Kirkland brand. That’s when I tasted this chicken and fell in love.
It’s honestly one of my favorite grilled chicken dishes to serve a crowd. And grilling season is here!
Don’t be a chicken thigh hater. I used to be but really the chicken does not soak up the marinade unless you use thighs. I like to marinate this overnight if I have the time so the flavors really get absorbed.
OTHER HAWAIIAN RECIPES:
- Hawaiian Cheese Ball
- Banana Coconut Upside Down Cake
- Hawaiian Baked Beans
- Pina Colada Poke Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
- Guava Cake
Hawaiian Grilled Chicken
Although this Hawaiian Grilled Chicken recipe has been floating all over the web, this is where it first originated! Similar to Huli-Huli Chicken but with its own distinct flavor.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce (See Note; the soy sauce and water just needs to be a 1:1 ratio)
- 1 cup water
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 bunch of green onions , chopped (reserve the other half for garnish)
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil (not essential but add it if you have it)
- 1 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk
Instructions
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Trim chicken thighs of any visible fat. Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions, garlic, sesame oil, and coconut milk in a large bowl. Marinade chicken for at least 8 hours or overnight to make sure the flavor gets infused.
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Grill chicken at a low heat so that the marinade does not burn for 5-7 minutes per side or until done. If you do not have a grill you can use a indoor grill pan.
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Serve over a platter of coconut rice and garnish with green onions and a drizzle of additional soy sauce.
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*Coconut rice can be made by just replacing half of the water in your rice recipe with coconut milk. A trick my SIL told me! So good with just the right amount of coconut flavor.
Recipe Notes
Note: Jeff says the real key is the soy sauce. Kikomen's is way too salty. He prefers the Aloha Shoyu soy sauce. If you can only find Kikomen at least get the low sodium kind.
I often buy a bag of frozen thighs and thaw them, discard any liquid from thawing, then marinate them in the same bag I bought them in. So convenient!
Source: my friend Jeff Tibbitts
OMG!!! I lived in Hawaii for a couple of years, and this is PERFECT!!! So tasty!! I only had 2 lbs of chicken thighs, so I halved the marinade. I served it with mac salad and spicy roasted sweet potatoes. This will be in our dinner rotation now. Thank you!
Awesome to hear!
This has made it into my cookbook as it is one of my families favorite meal. We make it with coconut rice and Hawaiian macaroni salad. It makes a quick easy meal to make when family shows up unexpected.
It’s a keeper!
For those of you that are having trouble with the marinade sticking to the chicken, try this. Place marinated chicken in the freezer for 12-13 min then go directly to the hot grill. End of problem. This is especially helpful if you have slipped a few pounded out breasts to the mix. As others suggested, I also substituted pineapple juice for the water. Now the recipe has a little Huli Huli touch.
This was amazing. And the rice was so good too. Definitely gonna be in regular rotation this summer!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you!
will pineapple be a good extra here? i really like pineapple with chicken and caribean inspired dishes.
Ooh yes. Especially grilled pineapple is fantastic.
This is first time I’ve visited your site and it’s wonderful! I thought, since you’re a busy wife and mom I’d give you a little tip that I’ve used with many marinated recipes. I make the marinade & soak the meat for as long as the recipe calls for. Then, I take the meat out of the marinade, shake it off a little and put it in a freezer bag or vacuum seal it and pop it in the freezer. If freezing several pieces of meat in one bag, I first lay them out on a cookie sheet and stick them in the freezer. Once frozen, you can put them all in one big baggie or vacuum freeze together. It helps during busy times. Thanks for all your great recipes! Annie
Thanks for the tip! I appreciate it. Love that idea for busy nights!
What if I want to do legs… Will it still work??
I haven’t tried it with legs but I don’t see why not?
These sounds AMAZING!
I made this for my husband tonight and he absolutely loved it. He said it tasted just like the chicken from the Hawaiian restaurant near our home. Score!
Hello, if I was to bake the thighs should I discard the marinade or bake with all the marinade?
Thanks!
I think technically you should discard the marinade according to food safety laws. I’m not an expert though.
I originally found this recipe on the Chef In Training webpage (http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/06/hawaiian-grilled-chicken/) but oh my gosh, this is SO good! Although I cutback on the amount of soy sauce and brown sugar used, it was still amazing! even thew a couple pineapple slices on top for flavor. This is going to become a regular in our household!
Thanks! Glad you loved it!
I pinned this Saturday March 14, so I can get the ingredients and grill it Monday evening. A gazillion people have already pinned it again! This must be some tasty chicken. Going to try boneless, skinless first time.Next time I’m trying skin on with slashes in the skin (we love crispy skin occasionally! ). Love your blog and recipes! Thanks!
Made it tonight. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
So we made this last week and it was a hit from my three yr old to my 70 yr old father…we all loved it. I was wondering if you thought this would cook up nicely in a slow cooker? Just trying to come up with quick weeknight dinners and since all of my kids loved this…
The original recipe comes from my friend Jeff and I’m pretty sure he used a slow cooker every once in a while.
I used your recipe about two years ago and it came out delicious. I recently tried it again and for some reason it came out different. I know I read that you have tweaked the recipe since then, but do you have the old recipe in your archives? Thanks
Sorry Juan,
I just reduced the marinade since it was enough for 5 lbs. Here’s the original recipe:
3 pounds chicken thighs
2 cups soy sauce, If using Kikoman’s, make sure its low sodium
2 cups water
1½ cups brown sugar
1 bunch green onions, reserve some for garnish later
¼ cup sweet onion, finely chopped
½ tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
Made this recipe twice now and it is definitely a keeper! May I suggest trying it with pineapple juice subbing for the water…tried it that way last night and it was amazing! Any recommendations for side-dishes? Rice is a no-brainer but would love some more ideas.
I usually serve it with salad and some rolls.
I also used sweetened condensed milk!
This is a new favorite in our house! DELISH!
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
This was a big hit with my family and friends. It will be used frequently. Before I grilled the chicken, I grilled a sliced and halved fresh pineapple to serve on the chicken. Wonderful recipe Christy!
Glad you loved it!
Delish! My husband loves this so much we’re having it for the 3rd time in a month. Thanks for sharing 🙂
It’s one of my favorites too.
Hey there! This recipe looks amazing! Question on the coconut rice. Could I make it using brown rice??
I’ve never tried it but I don’t see why not?
What would you recommend for a beverage (alcoholic or not) to go with these flavors? Also, do you have a veggie side recommendation? Thanks!
I actually don’t drink but you really could pair anything with this chicken. I have mine with a Diet Coke:)
For veggies, I would maybe do a salad or some asparagus.
Thank you!!! 🙂 I am making this for a birthday tomorrow so I really was excited to get your suggestions so quickly. 🙂
Loved it the first time and the seconded time when I add pinnapple juice!
Hi Christy, I have a quick question… The recipe calls for brown sugar – packed or not packed? I’m making the marinade as we speak. Very excited to taste the chicken – can’t wait!
Packed brown sugar is what you want…
This chicken is so flavorful. I have made this many times and everyone eaves. It is so nice to prepare in advance, then just toss on the grill. Thank you. Great recipes
This is one of my favorites. Glad you enjoyed it too.
Hi Christy! I’ve made this chicken and it’s all the reviews say it is–amazing. I wondered if you had the measurements for 40lbs of chicken. I KNOW I KNOW that’s quite a bit of chicken LOL; I seem to overbuy my ingredients so this time my budget is even tighter so any help you could provide with the measurements would be so appreciated.
Thank You,
NW Fan!
I will say that the marinade is very plentify for this chicken. This marinade would probably be sufficient for 5 pounds of chicken so 5×8 is 40, so you could make this recipe x8. Hope this helps. Can I come to the party?
Omg I’ve been searching for a bourbon chicken recipe and this tastes exactly like it….keep it up doll you make my Monday thru Wednesday dinners interesting
I am an enthusiastic cook and have tried countless chicken dishes. I lived in Hilo on the Big Island for about 5 years and always enjoyed authentic shoyu chicken. But I must say that without a doubt this is the BEST, I repeat BEST Hawaiian style BBQ chicken I have ever tasted. YUM! I was too lazy to start the BBQ grill, so I broiled it under the oven broiler. I took careful measures, turning it often so that it wouldn’t burn. I must have turned it 3-4 times on each side until it got a nice mild char (I left the skin on the thighs).
Then, in the last few minutes, as the rice cooked, I added the already broiled chicken to the steaming rice, to make sure that center of the chicken was cooked all the way through. It was tender, juicy, and had the most awesome flavor. I served it with a pineapple coleslaw and coconut rice. This will become a regular on my recipe rotation. And it’s perfect to serve special guests.
So glad you enjoyed it!
I tried this recipe for a family BBQ and let me just say…AMAZING. Everyone loved it and was asking for the recipe. We will definitely make this again…and again!!
Sylvia,
Great news!!! I love hearing that.
Made it tonight and my picky husband and two little boys said it was pretty amazing! I bought the costco thighs about a year ago and froze the meat. I used some of it and decided that I hated thigh meat and was just going to give my meat away or throw it out. I came across this recipe and I am SOOOOO glad I didnt give it away! Now I have a recipe that I can use it up with!! I didnt have sesame oil and didnt want to spend $5 for it so I left it out and it still tasted amazing. I basted mine with Grill Mates citrus baja marinade and it was awesome! Im not a fan of coconut either but combined with all of the other flavors it really made the meat moist and delicious.
Ok, im done:)
Just be cautious as some soy sauce does have gluten in it! But this sounds amazing!