By Request Betty Shimabukuro

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Sauce is key to
Loco Moco’s
garlic chicken

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Andrew Lee is an architect, a construction contractor and a developer of strip malls. But for the purposes of this discussion, he is the owner of the Loco Moco Drive Inn restaurants.

The chain just grew to six restaurants, opening in the Wal-Mart Kunia Center last month.

In honor of the occasion, Lee is sharing Loco Moco's recipe for garlic chicken, which is one of the most frequently requested dishes by readers of this column.

Garlic chicken -- deep-fried nuggets of chicken dipped in a soy-garlic sauce -- is a plate-lunch standard. From recipe-to-recipe, the technique is basically the same; the difference is in the sauce.

Loco Moco's is a simple mix of soy sauce, loads of garlic, sugar and onions. Lee says it's one of the chain's top sellers. No. 1 top-seller is, appropriately, the Loco Moco, at the rate of about 30 per day, per location.

Lee started the chain eight years ago at Midtown Center in Mililani. He'd owned six L&L Drive-Inn franchises before deciding to go out on his own.

Close friends and family now franchise the other Loco Mocos, in Kapolei, Ewa Beach, Waipahu and Hawaii Kai. Lee also owns Kapolei Chinese Restaurant and Dragon Dragon restaurant on Maui.

Loco Moco's motto is "Good food fast ... fast food good" -- "And lots of it," Lee adds. 

His target customer is the double-income family with no time to cook. With a couple of plate lunches in hand, "they can have a family meal without cooking."

As for those other professions of Lee's, he's been working at all of them since immigrating to Hawaii from Hong Kong in 1966. He did shut down his construction company, though. "I just decided to give myself a break."

Garlic Chicken

5 pounds boneless chicken thighs, in bite-sized pieces
Flour for dredging
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

>> Garlic sauce:
4 cups soy sauce
3 large heads garlic, minced
1 cup sugar
1 onion, chopped

To make sauce, combine ingredients; set aside.

Dredge chicken in flour. Heat oil to 350 degrees. Deep-fry chicken until golden brown. Dip fried chicken pieces in garlic sauce to coat. (Do not soak chicken or it will become soggy). Extra sauce may be served on the side for dipping. Serves 12.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 600 calories, 35 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 160 mg cholesterol, greater than 5,000 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate , 44.g protein.

Can you help?

Paul Ledesma is trying to identify a bread sold at Liberty Bakery in Kalihi years ago. He describes it having a hard crust, dusted with flour, with a soft, white interior.

"Its shape was round at the base and somewhat domelike." He'd like to know the name so he can look for the bread in his new hometown, San Diego.

If you recognize this description, please get in touch.

See the Columnists section for some past articles.

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.