Almost Kay's Lunch Center: Fried Sesame Chicken

Perhaps it was blog reader BrendaC who is responsible for my wave of nostalgia.  Perhaps it could have been triggered by Kikukat Dad who said he had dinner at Restaurant Kenichi.  Perhaps I equate the Super Bowl with partying.  I don't know.  But whatever it was, I've been bitten by the nostalgia bug.

If you spent some time in Hilo during the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century, you likely had a meal at Kay's Lunch Center (today the location is occupied by Restaurant Kenichi).  Kay's Lunch Center served local, Japanese, and Korean foods.  They were best known for two things:  fried chicken and blueberry cream cheese pie.

The blueberry cream cheese pie was alright.  I'm really not a fan of that kind of thing.  I am usually put off by the icky gooey goop of canned pie filling.  And the cream cheese layer in a round pie just seemed too thick for the amount of topping.  You can have all the blueberry cream cheese pie you want.  I will pass.

It was the fried chicken that brought me back to Kay's Lunch Center time and time again.  Sometimes I would eat-in, but many times, I did the take-out...chicken in the cardboard box with the pointy lid.  I loved the mild shoyu-sugar flavor and the random sesame seeds strewn on the coating. 

Kay's Lunch Center closed up a few years ago.  As I was watching the Super Bowl yesterday, I couldn't help but think about all the parties missing the cardboard box with Kay's Lunch Center chicken.  I know I was missing it, especially since the Seahawks lost (No, I am not much of a Seahawks fan, but having lived in Seattle, I feel a little guilty if I don't cheer for them if they are not playing a team I like more).  So if you are like me and have a hankering for Kay's Lunch Center fried chicken, you can go ahead and make your own. 

Now I realize there are two divergent methods one might try for making the chicken.  I've seen recipes which call for flouring and frying the chicken and then dipping it into a sauce.  I call that "Korean Chicken", and I will share the recipe in a separate post.  But I never noticed any green onion bits on the Kay's version; I only noticed sesame seeds.  My method for making the Kay's Lunch Center chicken calls for marinating the chicken overnight and then frying it.  It seems to be less messy and more straightforward than the alternate method.

And if you happen to have leftover fried chicken, you can do what Kay's Lunch Center did. . .pull all the meat off the bones and use it to top a salad.   Mmmmmm.  

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Fried Sesame Chicken

     5 lbs chicken wings

     1 c cornstarch

     1/2 c flour

     1/2 c sugar

     1 tsp salt

     6 tbsp shoyu

     2 tsp oyster sauce

     4 eggs

     4 stalks green onion, thinly sliced (optional)

     2 garlic cloves, minced

     4 tbsp sesame seeds

Cut each chicken wing into 3 pieces (tip, flat, drummette).  Discard tips or save for stock.  Combine remaining ingredients and place in a ziploc bag.  Add chicken pieces.  Turn bag to coat evenly.  Allow to marinate overnight.  Deep fry wings until golden brown.

Back in the Emerald City: Bones, Bones, Bones

Its been over 20 years.  My, how you've changed!



There were no college buddies on my long flight across the Pacific.



There was no UGeo to greet me at the airport, to help me with my baggage, to take me to get something to eat.






And yet, in many ways, you've stayed the same.



The autumn air is still cool and brisk.



The air still has that odd smell. . .somewhere between the smell of industry and paper pulp.  Its hard to describe, but anyone who has lived in the Pacific Northwest knows what I'm talking about.



Starbuck's Coffee still rules.



And Pike Place Market is still THE place for fresh seafood.




Going down to the market to watch the salmon being thrown to the back at Pike Place Fish was, and still is, a sight to see. Anytime someone visited me in Seattle, it was de rigueur to go down there and watch the salmon "fly". 

As I've spoken of previously, to me, Seattle IS salmon.  There are very few things more delicious than hot, fresh, alder-smoked salmon.  Whether its made by UGeo or Ivar's, the aroma itself will transport you to a different world.  I don't think I could even attempt to recreate it at home.

Ahhhh. . .home. . .Hilo.  We buy fresh salmon from the supermarket (or receive Alaskan salmon from Kento), and we buy it by the piece, never whole.  Living in Seattle, UGeo would often buy the whole salmon.  He would do the filleting himself.  If I knew then what I know now, I would've asked him to give me the center bone.

The center bone, after the salmon has been filleted, is one of my most favorite parts (after the collars/kama, of course).  Some people cook the center bone in a shoyu/sugar sauce, but I love it fried.  It goes great with a cold brewski. . .rice optional!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Fried Salmon Bones

     1 lb salmon bones
     3/4 c flour
     1 1/2 tsp salt
     1 1/2 tbsp garlic salt
     1 1/2 tbsp lemon pepper

In a small ziploc bag, combine all ingredients except bones.  Rinse bone pieces and pat dry.  Using a cleaver and kitchen shears, cut bone pieces apart into 1 1/2" segments.  Shake each piece in flour mixture and pan fry in shallow oil til crispy.

And while I miss UGeo and think about him everyday, not all Seattle change is bad. . Seattle now has superb outlet shopping! I'm sure UGeo is proud of that.