Chicken Hekka is a local Hawaii dish of simmered chicken, vegetables, and noodles. Think of it as Hawaii's version of Japanese sukiyaki!
Chicken Hekka
Oh Chicken Hekka! This is such a classic local Hawaii dish, and brings back so many happy childhood and potluck memories ^_^
We've covered many of the dishes that sprung from Hawaii's plantation era...dishes like saimin, shave ice, pipikaula, and manapua. Chicken Hekka is also a dish that falls into this category.
Do you know about Japanese sukiyaki? Chicken Hekka is like the Hawaii version of sukiyaki! It's a simmered chicken, vegetable, and noodle dish that's seasoned with a combination of chicken broth, soy sauce, mirin, and sesame oil (all common Hawaii kitchen pantry ingredients).
The main vegetables in the dish are ginger, garlic, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and canned bamboo shoots.
People love making Chicken Hekka because it tastes super onolicious, but also because it's a forgiving and flexible recipe.
It's one of those "use what you've got in your fridge" recipes. Leave out the ingredients you don't have, add any ingredients you do have. Simmer it all on the stove and then eat! Eat with rice, of course (more on that below).
The Noodles
This noodles are an essential part of this dish! We use cellophane noodles which are sold under many different names. Look for a noodle with one of these names:
- Cellophane Noodles
- Glass Noodles
- Mung Bean Noodles
- Bean Thread Noodles
- Long Rice Noodles (this is the term we mostly use in Hawaii)
When dried, the noodles are white-ish, but when cooked they turn translucent. These noodles are super cool because they are SO GOOD at soaking up broth. (Don't accidentally get rice vermicelli noodles which will stay white after cooking.)
If you're a bit confused about the getting the right noodles, just look at the ingredient list. There should be three ingredients listed on the package: mung bean flour, potato starch, and water.
You can find cellophane noodles at all Chinese markets and some Japanese markets. In Hawaii, we can even get them at the local drugstore and Costco!
We use cellophane noodles in many Onolicious dishes including Chicken Long Rice and Ants Climbing a Tree.
The Broth
The classic flavors of Chicken Hekka are made from a foundation of four ingredients:
- Chicken Broth*
- Soy Sauce
- Mirin
- Sesame Oil
*About the chicken broth: if you have homemade broth, great! Store bought broth is also great. We also often just use bouillon when it comes to cooking stirfry and simmered dishes.
This recipe also calls for dried shiitake mushrooms. To rehydrate the mushrooms, you'll have to soak them in hot water for an hour. Don't throw away the water after soaking! The water will become a flavorful mushroom broth. Instead of wasting this mushroom broth, you can replace some of the chicken broth with the mushroom broth.
One Pot Lunch/Dinner
This is truly a one pot meal.
Once you have all your ingredients in place, this dish comes together easily. Saute the chicken with ginger and garlic. Add in all the liquids. Then add the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. Then add the noodles. Finish with green onions and watercress.
You just keep adding the ingredients into the pot, step by step. By the time you are done cooking, you'll have one very flavorful, comforting dish. I made this dish a lot in college when I was homesick.
Eat With Rice
Chicken Hekka is technically a noodle dish. But we love rice in Hawaii so we eat this dish with rice. Yes! It is a noodle dish that you spoon over rice. Get a big bowl of rice and spoon the Chicken Hekka over rice like a stew. It's so good when everything is steamy and hot.
You remember this Ants Climbing a Tree dish? It's a famous Sichuan noodle dish that's also traditionally eaten with rice.
Rice and noodles do make an excellent pairing ^_^
P.S. Chicken Hekka is also similar to a famous Hawaiian dish called Chicken Long Rice...they both use the same type of cellophane noodles and chicken. It's also one of those comforting saucy/brothy dishes.
Tips and Questions
This recipe includes all the "classic" Chicken Hekka ingredients. But the fun part about this dish is that it is flexible. Skip the veggies you don't have, use the veggies you already have. Add, replace, or reduce or add more, it's all up to you.
These are other popular Chicken Hekka ingredients:
- Celery
- Tofu
- Konnyaku
- Shirataki Noodles
- Bean Sprouts
- Napa Cabbage
- Canned baby corn
- Replace dried shiitake mushrooms with fresh mushrooms (any kind will do, though enoki, beech, and cremini are most popular) or canned mushrooms.
Tip: basically any type of meat, veggie, or starch you would include in sukiyaki will also work for Chicken Hekka.
Chicken Hekka is best the day it's prepared but will keep for 3 days in the fridge.
1-2 minutes in the microwave.
Chicken Hekka Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Chicken Hekka
Chicken Hekka is Hawaii's version of Japanese sukiyaki! It's a mix of the good things: chicken, mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots, and noodles, simmered in a savory broth. It's a flexible recipe, add or substitute any vegetables you have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 2-inch piece ginger, julienned
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth (or 2 cups chicken broth + 1 cup of the shiitake mushroom soaking water)
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup mirin
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 8 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in a cup hot water for 1 hour to rehydrate, then thinly sliced
- 1 8-ounce can bamboo shoots
- 5 ounces cellophane noodles (also called bean thread, mung bean, or glass noodles)
- 3 stalks green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 bunch watercress, cut in half (stems and leaves)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, brown the chicken over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic. Saute for 2 more minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, mirin, and sesame oil to the pan. Bring to a boil.
- Add the onion, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. Mix and then turn the heat to low, put the lid on the pan and let simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid and add the cellophane noodles. Cook 6-8 minutes more minutes over medium heat until the noodles are cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed. You want the final dish to be "saucy" but not soupy.
- Add the green onions and watercress stems. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Turn off heat. Add the watercress leaves. Mix and serve! Eat plain or spooned over a big bowl of rice.
This was so ONO! Not having to soak the long rice was a bonus. Used fresh shiitake and upland cress, a hydroponically grown cress similar to water cress, which is all my local grocer had. The upland cress seemed to have a milder flavor than regular water cress, so next time I will try just topping off the finished dish at end, without allowing it to cook. Living in Seattle now, eating this dish reminds me of growing up in Hawaii. Thank you, Kathy, for sharing this recipe!
Made my chicken Hekka tonight for dinner. Hadn’t made it in a while. My addition to the hekka is sliced fried aburage. That and the watercress is a must. Got to heat up some rice and dig in.
Hi Fran! Sounds so good with fried aburage! I'll definitely add that next time. Pretty perfect meal with a big bowl of rice 🙂
- Kathy
I think that fried aburage is a perfect touch. I will certainly try that.
To my surprise I saw this while looking at the chicken hekka recipe. Did you try adding the aburage?
Ono! Live in Washington State and haven’t eaten this dish since 2010. Brings back memories of home. I’m so glad to have found your recipe. Mahalo!
Has anyone tried it using Shirataki noodles?
Awesome recipe. I just tweaked it and added sugar into the shoyu, mirin, sesame oil mixture. Mahalo Kakou for sharing your recipe! Loved it! My ohana too!
Aloha Nohea - So happy you and your ohana enjoyed! Thank you for the kind words 🙂
- Kathy
OMGoodness! Talk about bringing back memories! When I was a kid in Hilo, chicken heka was a special dish ceremoniously cooked by my grandfather at family gatherings. My grandmother would prep the ingredients and line it up around a gas skillet and my grandfather cooked it at one end of the looong dining table in their dining room/kitchen. (Big family). No written recipe, it was just toss in the ingredients. What I liked best was the watercress ♡
Aloha Keiko - Thanks for sharing such a super cool family memory, I love it!! Put a big smile on my face. Family gatherings centered around food are always the best. I can picture it well ^_^
- Kathy
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Great recipe! I made it tonight and it was amazing! I doubled the recipe and added a bit more shoyu and mirin than called for, needed a bit more salt and sweet for my taste. Found all the ingredients at KTA here in Kona. So, so good! Mahalo for the great recipe!
Aloha Lisa - Thank you very much for your kind words, I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Love KTA...wish we had them here on Oahu ^_^
- Kathy
Do you soak the long rice first or just add it to the broth? I tried to make chicken long rice and the noodles were still a bit chewy and soaked up all the broth even though I did soak it for about 10 minutes?
Mahalo! I love the recipes and comments and pictures!! Happy New Year!!
Aloha Sharlene! Good question! Pre-soaking is totally a personal preference. I don't usually pre-soak for this dish because I want the long rice to soak up all the sauce/broth flavors (instead of water from pre-soak).
If the long rice doesn't get soft enough, cook it for a few minutes longer until it's as soft as you like (can add more broth or water as needed). Hope this is helpful, and so happy you like the blog. Thank you and happy new year! 🙂
- Kathy
do you have to soak the Long Rice before cooking?
Aloha Peggy! You can pre-soak if you want. I don't usually do it for this dish because I want the long rice to soak up all the sauce/broth flavors (instead of water from pre-soak). If you're worried about the long rice not getting soft enough, just cook it for a few extra minutes (add more broth or water if needed). If you chose pre-soak the long rice, do it for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy! 🙂
- Kathy
I'm going to make it tonight for dinner. My uncle passed yesterday and he was the chicken hekka master of the family. He would cook for 20 people in a huge skillet on his outdoor propane burner. He would make it for us whenever we go visit the islands. RIP Uncle.
Aloha Wendy! Thank you for sharing family memories. I hope dinner was a success 🙂 Your uncle sounds like wonderful chef and I'm sure he will be missed! Love the memory of Chicken Hekka for 20. Have a happy and safe new year 🙂
- Kathy
I love your website!! Thank you for all these simple local recipes. Can't wait to try this next week!
Thank you, Kristen! Hope you enjoy! ^_^
- Kathy
Yup; you hit the nail on the head. Hekka can be made with all kinds of ingredients. I made that all the time -- with beef, pork, chicken, etc. My late wife loved it, but my current wife (haole) not so much, so I don't make it much anymore. If I was still living in Honolulu, I can find this for lunch in some restaurants, so here in AZ, I cannot find it. Auwe!!
Hi Alan! Yes! That really is the beauty of Chicken Hekka 🙂 I feel like more restaurants/takeout spots served Chicken Hekka when I was growing up, but now I usually only get to it eat it when someone makes it at home...or when I make it ahaaha.
- Kathy
@Alan, totally agree! Here in NC, I'm gonna be introducing this to my grandchildren tonight (hapahaole). Wish me luck!