These proportions will give you enough sauce to coat the chicken, but at Masu's the chicken is submerged in sauce. Don't expect it to taste exactly like Masu's - in a side-by-side comparison it lacked a distinct smoky flavor that's probably a function of Masu's high-heat gas grill. This recipe is broken down from a massive original that started with 3 gallons of soy sauce. "Even my sister, I gave her the exact recipe for the kalua pork, and she said, 'It's just not the same,' and I said, 'I guess you just don't have the talent.'" "The bigger the amount, the better the taste. You'll probably want to make a bit less at one time, but Masuoka says smaller quantities just don't come out the same. Now, he makes 150 pounds of chicken a day. She also taught him that using a lot of water in the sauce keeps it from getting too salty as it thickens. Masuoka uses Aloha soy sauce - "the local one the reason why is it's cheap." Actually, it's also less salty than Japanese soys.
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(Seriously, if you have a portable gas burner, you might want to perform this step outside the house.) If your smoke alarm goes off, he says, you're doing it right. For one thing, the first step is to sear the chicken - and on the high heat of his commercial gas grill, that's a smoky proposition. He's not sure you can duplicate it exactly at home, though. The best thing about the dish: "It's a very simple thing to do, and it's cheap." "Some would say it's too sweet some would say it's too salty. NOW, to get back to the teri chicken: Masuoka says he and his mother developed the original formula, but adapted it based on "constructive criticism" from customers. KOJIMA / Masuoka jokes with customers who have come in to Masu's Massive Plate Lunch. I said, 'When we close - guaranteed.'"ĬRAIG T. He's opted for a single serving of fried mahimahi strips, not the three-choice combination - and tossed salad, not macaroni. "I like everything, but I'm trying to cut back on the pig," he says, with a gesture at his plate. He likes the photos of the many celebrity Masu's fans covering the walls, and the traditional Hawaiian music on the speakers, much of it from Masuoka's collection dating to the 1940s.Īnd the food, of course. "Nothing but aloha over here," Simmons says. Guy Simmons lives and works in Ewa Beach but has been eating at Masu's at least once a week, whenever he can get to town. By noon, Masuoka says, the line will be out the door, as it is every day. Behind the counter, Queenie Lee and Lynette Roberts work deliberately, without pause, scooping piles of food into foam containers. ON MONDAY at 10 a.m., well before lunch time, the line of customers at Masu's is constant. The work didn't leave him time for a family - "I think if I got married I'd be divorced in a month" - but the restaurant did provide the means to care for his mother through her illness. But after his hospitalization, and facing his mother's decline, Masuoka cut back to a basic menu. She died in 2004.Īt one time, Masu's was famous for its upscale plate lunch specials - shrimp cocktail, steak, even lobster tail. Mother and son moved the operation to Kamaile Street, and 15 years ago to Liliha Street, where they worked together until Yoshiko Masuoka, slowly succumbing to Alzheimer's disease, retired at age 87. The staff of four works in the royal blue Masu's T-shirts - souvenir hunters, note: You can buy one for $12 at the restaurant. KOJIMA / Lee packs up a couple of massive plate lunches. A plate-lunch counter proved more successful than catering, though, and Masu's Plate Lunch was born (the "massive" was added years later).ĬRAIG T. MASU'S BEGAN in the 1970s as Livingston Food Service, a catering business on Waimanu Street run by Masuoka and his mother, Yoshiko. He works in gallons and with 100 pounds of chicken at a time, so some calculations were in order, but a quite serviceable recipe follows for all those who expect to be in withdrawal after today. Masuoka was happy to share, and rattled off the proportions over the phone. News of Masu's closing has brought several requests from readers for recipes, especially for the teri chicken. His only break was in 2002, when a leg ulcer worked its way deep into his flesh and he had to take a month off - two weeks of that spent in a hospital bed.
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That, plus he's been on his feet working relentlessly in that Masu's kitchen for a generation. Perhaps this is why he's bone thin and wiry as a ninja. "I cannot stand teriyaki, because it's sweet. 1 SELLER at Masu's Massive Plate Lunch is the teriyaki chicken, but owner Paul Masuoka says he can't stand the stuff.
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