By Request Betty Shimabukuro

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Baking makes
teri chicken
extra tender

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Sometimes the simplest foods are the best, especially if you can find a formula for a basic dish done particularly well.

Georgiane Senda is a faithful customer of the Gazebo restaurant in Macy's downtown store and especially loves the teriyaki chicken and fried rice.

"The teri chicken at Macy's is very tender and tasty. It doesn't look like they simmer it in the sauce like a typical teri chicken, which sometimes turns out tough. I wonder if they cook it separately and then put it in a sauce?"

Right on all counts. Teri chicken is typically marinated in a soy-ginger-sugar mixture, then grilled or broiled. The Gazebo's version calls for baking chicken thighs that have been seasoned only with salt and pepper. The sauce is prepared on the stovetop and poured on top.

The fried rice is a meaty version with bacon, Portuguese sausage and fish cake.

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Teriyaki Chicken

5 pounds chicken thighs (with bones and skin)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 stalk green onion, finely sliced

>> Sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce (Aloha brand preferred)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 small piece ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash chicken and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 1 hour, or until cooked through.

To make sauce: Combine ingredients except cornstarch in a pot and bring to a boil. As mixture boils, gradually add cornstarch slurry, stirring, until sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat.

Drain oil from chicken. Serve topped with sauce and green onion. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: (not including salt to taste): 580 calories, 31 g total fat, 9 g saturated fat, 190 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,500 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 51 g protein

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Fried Rice

2 cups cooked rice
2 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
Dash pepper
2 eggs, beaten
6 strips bacon, thinly sliced
1/2 link Portuguese sausage, diced
1/2 cup diced onion
2 stalks green onion, finely sliced
1/2 stick kamaboko (fish cake), thinly sliced

Combine rice with soy sauce and pepper; set aside.

Fry eggs as though making an omelet; remove from heat and slice thinly. Set aside.

Stir-fry bacon, sausage and onion until brown and well-cooked. Add rice and continue to stir-fry until hot. Garnish with green onion, kamaboko and sliced eggs. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 425 calories, 25 g total fat, 9 g saturated fat, 145 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,100 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 14 g protein.

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Can you help?

B.T. Nishimura is looking for a recipe for the cheesecake served at the old Alexander Young Hotel. It was, Nishimura says, "a very light and very tasty cheese cake that just kinda melted in your mouth."

If you have this recipe, please share.

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.