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Sweet and Salty Hawaiian Mochiko Chicken Recipe

Are you looking for a sweet and salty Hawaiian chicken recipe? Try this Mochiko Chicken recipe. It’s sure to delight your whole family! Scroll down for the full recipe!
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This mochiko chicken recipe is crunchy, sweet, salty, and so tasty! This Hawaiian chicken dish is so delicious you’ll wonder why you’ve never made it before; that’s how good it is!

Let’s be honest, fried chicken is one of the best things on the whole planet Earth.

There’s something about that crackly, crispy top and the juicy chicken and the spices that make fried chicken a dish everyone loves. Mochiko chicken is that but elevated. 

This is one of the items I always get at our local Hawaiian restaurant. Actually, this restaurant is about 40 minutes from our house and it’s totally worth the drive every time.

However, most days our family is too busy to drive to pick up this delicious Hawaiian-style fried chicken, so we’ve been making it at home. It’s so yummy that we had to share!

Keep scrolling for a tasty mochiko recipe for Hawaiian fried chicken perfect for a delicious family dinner!

Hawaiian Mochiko Chicken Recipe featured by top Hawaii blog, Hawaii Travel with Kids.

What is Hawaiian Mochiko Chicken?

If you have never heard about mochiko chicken before I’ll introduce you to it!

It’s a traditional Hawaiian chicken dish that’s marinated in a mixture of mochiko flour (sweet rice flour), soy sauce, sugar, and spices and then deep-fried.

Think of it like marinating your chicken in the same batter you are frying it. 

Mochiko chicken is definitely one of the top mochiko recipes in Hawaii.

How to Substitute Mochiko in Mochiko Chicken: 

One of the things people are scared the most about trying mochiko chicken at home is the mochiko part. After all, it’s not like sweet rice flour is a staple in most homes. 

If you want to make the original version of this Hawaiian fried chicken recipe, you can find mochiko flour, Japanese sweet rice flour, or glutinous rice flour (all of those are the same thing) at most Asian markets. 

If not you can also use traditional rice flour (available at most supermarkets in the baking section) and a bit of corn starch. The result will be very similar to using mochiko sweet rice flour.

Hawaiian Mochiko Chicken Recipe featured by top Hawaii blog, Hawaii Travel with Kids.

How to Make Mochiko Chicken

The best thing about this fried Hawaiian chicken recipe? It’s incredibly easy to make!  

  • Whisk together all the marinade ingredients.
  • Add the chicken pieces and toss to combine. Cover the marinated chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.
  • Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. You’ll know the oil is hot enough if you throw in a drop of batter and it starts calmly sizzling.
  • Transfer the chicken to the pan and cook until golden brown.

Save this Hawaiian mochiko fried chicken recipe. I have a feeling you’ll start making it again and again. 

Hawaiian Mochiko Chicken Recipe featured by top Hawaii blog, Hawaii Travel with Kids.

Mochiko Chicken Ingredients

  • 5 Pounds chicken pieces (boneless skinless chicken thighs work best)
  • 1 Cup rice flour
  • 1 Cup soy sauce
  • 1 Cup green onions, chopped
  • 5 Tbsp corn starch
  • 1 ½ Tbsp salt
  • 8 Tbsp white sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 eggs
  • Hot oil, for frying

How to Make Mochiko Chicken

If you didn’t get boneless chicken thighs, remove chicken skin, and cut up the chicken thighs.

In a large bowl whisk together the white rice flour, soy sauce, thinly sliced green onions, cornstarch, salt, sugar, garlic, cayenne pepper, and eggs. Incorporate the chicken thighs and toss to combine.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and take it to the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight. The longer the better. 

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Then fry the chicken and cook for 3 minutes per side or until crisp and golden brown all over and cooked thoroughly.

You can place the cooked chicken on a paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet. The paper towels will soak up the excess oil.

And that’s it! Your whole family will love this Hawaiian Mochiko Chicken! This is seriously the best mochiko chicken recipe you’ll find!

Mochiko Chicken FAQs

What’s the difference between Mochiko Chicken and Karaage?

While both are fried chicken with Japanese elements, karaage is not the same as mochiko fried chicken. Usually, karaage is soaked in sake and soy sauce marinade before frying. Mochiko chicken is a much sweeter deep-fry chicken.

How do you serve mochiko chicken?

We love eating mochiko chicken plate lunch-style which is a scoop of rice and macaroni salad. You can also swap out the spam in Spam Musubi and use mochiko chicken instead (it’s SO good!) for a mochiko chicken musubi!

What is mochiko flour?

Mochiko flour is sweet rice flour from Japan. It’s the main ingredient in Butter Mochi, Mochi Waffles, and Jello Mochi.

Yield: 5 Servings

Hawaiian Recipes: Mochiko Chicken

Hawaiian Recipes: Mochiko Chicken

This mochiko chicken recipe is crunchy, sweet, salty and so tasty! This Hawaiian chicken dish is so delicious you’ll wonder why you never made it before, that’s how good it is!

Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 12 minutes

Ingredients

  • 5 Pounds chicken pieces
  • 1 Cup rice flour
  • 1 Cup soy sauce
  • 1 Cup green onion, chopped
  • 5 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 ½ Tbsp salt
  • 8 Tbsp white sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 eggs
  • Oil, for frying

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl whisk together the white rice flour, soy sauce, green onion, cornstarch, salt, sugar, garlic, cayenne pepper and eggs. Incorporate the chicken and toss to combine.
  2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and take to the refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight. The longer the better. 
  3. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add a few chicken pieces and cook for 3 minutes per side or until golden brown all over and cooked thoroughly.

Notes

Chicken thighs work best, but you can also use chicken breasts.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

5

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1245Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 715mgSodium: 5380mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 2gSugar: 21gProtein: 132g

Mochiko Chicken Recipe Wrap-Up

Now you know how easy it is to make mochiko chicken thighs, I hope you make it with your family soon!

This Hawaiian-style fried chicken is so delicious and is great for a luau or party!

Looking for more Hawaiian Chicken Recipes? Learn how to make Shoyu ChickenSkillet BBQ Pineapple Chicken, and Baked Huli Huli Chicken!

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