From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is one of the first dishes I made as a bride. A quick look at the recipe will show you why. It is effortless to make and tasty to boot. Back then, there was one type of soy sauce in grocery stores. It came in an 8 ounce bottle, and because not a lot of Asian cooking was done, that bottle could last a year or two. Not many "50's" brides made it to Hawaii, so shoyu chicken and those exotic Hawaiian plate lunches were known to us only because they were occasionally featured in the ladies magazines of the day. I can't tell you from which of the magazines this recipe was clipped, but I can tell you I've been making this version of shoyu chicken for nearly as long as I have been married. I'd share that number with you, but experience has made me wary. Folks tend to check if I'm wearing shoes when they hear how long the Silver Fox and I have shared a table. This version is a bit different than most because it uses lemon juice in addition to soy sauce, to marinate and glaze the chicken. Shoyu is Japanese soy sauce. It is sweeter and lighter than its Chinese counterpart and these days you can find it in any large supermarket. The chicken is baked in its marinade, turned once and then served over rice which absorbs the pan juices. A true plate lunch typically consists of a scoop or two of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad and a saucy meat entree like kalua pork or shoyu chicken. Plate lunches are considered a Hawaiian staple. They evolved from the leftovers Japanese immigrants carried in their lunch pails as they worked in the sugar cane or pineapple fields. This is such a simple dish and many would dismiss it, but it is one that I treasure because it is so easy to make. If you are looking for a quick week night meal you might want to give this chicken a try.
