In Hawaii we call Soy Sauce “Shoyu”. It’s the Japanese name for this dark salty sauce made from mashed soy beans.
We use Shoyu in many things, from dips to main dishes, Shoyu is a staple in almost every kitchen in Hawaii and is a condiment at most restaurants. One of the most popular dish made with this ingredient is Shoyu Chicken. It’s served at most local drive-ins and definitely in just about every local home.
I think of Shoyu Chicken as one of my favorite childhood comfort foods. I remember waiting for the days it was on the lunch menu at school.
This sweet salty chicken dish served over hot steamed white rice is delicious, or as we say in Hawaii “Ono”!
It’s really easy to make and requires ingredients you’ll find in an Asian Market, or if you live in Hawaii in any grocery store. I usually make up a large batch so that we can have left overs. This is one of those dishes that is just as good or even better the next day!
Best of all it doesn’t take all day to make and can be made in one pan! No fuss, no bother, just pure yummy! Here’s the recipe.
Shoyu Chicken
Ingredients:
6- 8 Chicken Thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
1 Tbs. Oil
3/4 Cup Soy Sauce or Shoyu as we call it
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar
6 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbs. Fresh Ginger, peeled and slivered
1/4 Cup Green Onions, chopped
1 Tbs. White Sesame Seeds
Directions:
Heat oil in a deep skillet or pot.
Add Chicken, skin side down and fry until it turns golden brown. Flip over and fry the other side too.
In a bowl combine soy sauce, sugar, water, and rice vinegar. Pour over the chicken.
Add in garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil.
Turn down heat and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
Flip chicken over and simmer covered another 15 minutes.
Remove lid and turn up the heat to reduce the sauce until it thickens to the consistency of honey.
Move to serving dish if desired and sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds.
Shrimp Scampi is a shrimp dish just about everyone loves. It’s a simple dish with just 4 ingredients; and it can be made in a matter of minutes. I mean how hard is it to sauté shrimp in a garlic butter sauce?
Sautéing in garlic butter is very easy, specially if you’re making scampi for just 2 or 3 people. But how about making it for a crowd? If you’re making scampi for a crowd you’ll probably want to make it in batches, you really can’t expect perfectly cooked shrimp when you’re pan is heaped with raw shrimp. It’s not always easy to get a frying pan of shrimp to cook evenly. So what’s the solution?
Baked scampi! Yes instead of sautéing a huge pan of shrimp or making several smaller batches it’s easier to bake them. This is seriously the easiest way to make Shrimp scampi for a crowd! It takes just minutes to put together then baked for about 15 minutes. This impressive looking dish can be made in about half an hour leaving you plenty of time to spend with guests instead of slaving away in the kitchen!
Baked Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients:
1 Lb. Medium Shrimp, peeled but leave tail on
1/4 Cup White Wine
1 Stick butter, melted and divided in halves
1 Lemon, juiced and zested
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Cup parsley, chopped, divided into thirds
Dash of Cayenne Red Pepper
1/2 Cup Panko bread crumbs
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pasta, cooked and ready to serve
Lemon wedges for garnish
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 425º
Combine wine, 1/2 of melted butter, lemon juice and zest, garlic, 1/3 of chopped parsley, Cayenne pepper in a bowl.
Toss raw shrimp in this mixture and let sit about 5 minutes.
Arrange shrimp on baking dish and drizzle marinade over it.
Toss Panko in olive oil and 1/3 of the chopped parsley
Sprinkle over shrimp.
Drizzle remaining butter over all.
Bake in hot oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the shrimp has turned pink.
Serve over pasta, sprinkle remaining parsley over all and serve with a wedge of lemon.
You won’t believe me until you try this recipe. I tried to create this recipe much easier to approach at home, without a huge traditional wok or using so much oil for deep fry!
The key for this recipe is cast iron wok/pan. You can also use any pan (non stick skillet or stainless skillet) you have too. It doesn’t have to be cast iron, but if you have one… just dust off and bring it out!
We will use minimum oil to shallow fry for the deep fry taste & texture. After the shallow frying, you can save and repurpose the leftover oil too, since it’s just a little bit.
It is amazing with steamed or fried rice. I like to enjoy with side steamed or stir fried veggies too. I have many different fried rice & veggie recipes you can serve with Beijing beef, so check it out down below!
Are we ready to start the recipe?! I’m already so hungry!
Let’s jump into it!
First, slice your beef thinly abut 1/8 inch and bite size. You don’t have to use expensive steak for this recipe, because we will cook the beef long enough to make it super crispy and tender. I recommend you to use beef chuk, tri-tip or flank steak.
Combine the sliced beef, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp shaoxing wine (or dry sherry. If you don’t want to consume alcohol, just omit) and pinch of black pepper in a mixing bowl. Marinate while preparing other ingredients.
Chop 5 to 7 cloves garlic. Dice 1/4 of medium size onion and 1/4 of red bell pepper. You can use any onions- I used yellow onion.
You won’t believe how simple is the sauce. Combine 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp sugar and 2 to 3 tsp sambal in a mixing bowl. This is is the BOMB! Super simple and so delicious!! Set aside.
Preheat 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup frying oil to 350°F. (If you are using cast iron wok/pan, just heat them over medium heat) We will do shallow fry, which is in-between deep frying & pan frying. More oil than pan frying but whole lot less than deep frying.
If you ware using wide skillet, less oil you will need.
Dust marinated beef with 1/2 cup of potato or corn starch evenly. You could coat them evenly one by one, but I’m hurry to cook & eat this Beijing beef so I just dumped the starch and mixed with my hand.
Check if the oil is preheated to 350°F by stick the end of a wooden chopstick or spoon into oil. If the oil starts steadily bubbling, then the oil is hot enough for frying.
add beef into frying oil one by one. Fry beef 6 to 7 minutes or until brown and crispy. You need to cook them well, almost the point that you are worry about if this is becoming a jerky. lol No worries, it won’t turn out to jerky though.
Remove beef from frying oil and place on a baking pan lined with cooling rack. Do batches as needed. I did 3 batches.
Turn off heat. Remove most of the frying oil from wok, leave 2 tbsp oil for stir frying.
You can keep used oil for later use, for stir frying or make this recipe again!
urn on heat to medium if you are using cast iron wok/pan or high heat if it’s regular wok or skillet. Add garlic, onion and red bell pepper. Stir fry them for 1 minute then pour sauce mixture. Let sauce boil, for 30 seconds, then add fried beef. Toss everything together and it’s read to serve!
Serve with steamed rice (or fried rice), chow mein, steamed veggies and more!
Combine beef, soy sauce, shaoxing wine and black pepper in a mixing bowl and marinate while preparing other ingredients.
Combine all ingredients for sauce in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Preheat frying oil to 350°F in a cast iron wok or a large skillet. (If you are using cast iron wok/pan, just heat them over medium heat)
Dust marinated beef with starch evenly. Now, carefully add beef into frying oil one by one. Fry beef 6 to 7 minutes or until brown and crispy. Remove Remove beef from frying oil and place on a baking pan lined with cooling rack. Do batches as needed.
Turn off heat. Remove most of the frying oil from wok, leave 2 tbsp oil for stir frying. You can keep used oil for later use, for stir frying or make this recipe again!
Turn on heat to medium if you are using cast iron wok/pan or high heat if it’s regular wok or skillet. Add garlic, onion and red bell pepper. Stir fry them for 1 minute then pour sauce mixture. Let sauce boil, for 30 seconds, then add fried beef. Toss everything together and it’s read to serve! Serve with steamed rice (or fried rice), chow mein, steamed veggies and more! Enjoy!
When you’re looking for something comforting and carb-y, nothing fits the bill like a good carbonara. This version adds a bit of protein by way of sautéed chicken breasts, making it the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner. No fettuccine on hand? Spaghetti, bucatini, linguine, or capellini would all be great instead. Happy slurping!
Made it? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!
YIELDS: 4 SERVINGS
PREP TIME: 0 HOURS 15 MINS
TOTAL TIME: 0 HOURS 25 MINS
INGREDIENTS
12 oz. fettuccine 4 slices bacon 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 4 large eggs, beaten 3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish 1/3 c. freshly chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water, and return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until bacon is crispy, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl and drain half the fat in skillet.
3. Add chicken to skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Season generously with salt and pepper and cook, flipping halfway through, until no longer pink, 10 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to low and return bacon to skillet. Toss, then add cooked pasta and toss until combined.
5. In a small bowl, beat together eggs, Parmesan, and parsley and season with salt and pepper.
6. Pour egg mixture over pasta and toss until coated, then add a couple tablespoons pasta water until creamy. (Add more pasta water by the tablespoonful as necessary.)
Garnish with Parmesan and parsley and serve immediately.
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pulse the onion, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, 2 tablespoons dill, the walnuts and garlic in a food processor. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, the vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste; pulse until smooth.
2. Stir half of the herb paste with the yogurt in a small bowl; cover and refrigerate.
3. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Loosen the skin with your fingers; rub some of the remaining herb paste under the skin and the rest on the outside of the bird. Truss the chicken. Place in a roasting pan; roast until the skin turns golden, about 30 minutes.
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Toss the tomatoes with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Baste the chicken with the drippings and add the tomatoes, cut-side down, to the pan. Continue roasting until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 155 degrees, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper; let the chicken rest 10 minutes before carving.
5. Arrange the chicken and tomatoes on a platter; sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons dill. Serve with the yogurt sauce.
