Thin-sliced or cubed beef soaked in shoyu-sugar-ginger teriyaki and grilled on bamboo skewers, sold at Hawaii plate-lunch counters, okazuya delis, and school fundraiser grills. A Japanese-plantation-era yakitori/kushiyaki descendant that became pan-island barbecue vernacular.
Also known as: teri beef sticks, teriyaki meat sticks, BBQ meat sticks, teri sticks, pipikaula sticks
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 600 g beef sirloin or flank, sliced 5 mm thin
- 120 ml shoyu (soy sauce)
- 100 g brown sugar
- 3 cm piece fresh ginger, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
How to make it
- 1
Stir the shoyu, sugar, ginger, garlic and mirin until every grain of sugar dissolves; set 60 ml aside in a small pan.
- 2
Ribbon the beef slices onto soaked bamboo skewers, lay them flat in the remaining marinade and refrigerate 4 hours.
- 3
Boil the reserved marinade 2 minutes into a glaze while the grill or grill pan gets screaming hot — the sugar needs fast caramelization, not a slow dry-out.
- 4
Cook the sticks 90 seconds per side; the thin meat lacquers and chars at the edges almost immediately.
- 5
Brush with the glaze, scatter sesame and spring onion, and serve plate-lunch style with white rice and macaroni salad.
Pro tip: Slice the beef across the grain while it is half-frozen — 5 mm ribbons are impossible to cut evenly once the meat is soft.
The story of Hawaiian teriyaki beef sticks
Teriyaki beef sticks are Hawaii plate-lunch and fundraiser food: thin-sliced or cubed beef soaked in a shoyu-sugar-ginger marinade and grilled on bamboo skewers. They are sold at okazuya delis, at school and church fundraiser grills, and at every community event on the islands.
They descend from the yakitori and kushiyaki traditions brought by Japanese plantation workers from the late nineteenth century, and they became pan-island barbecue vernacular rather than remaining a Japanese-community dish. The fundraiser grill is a genuine Hawaiian institution and the beef stick is its most reliable seller.
The technique that defines it
Hawaiian teriyaki is sweeter and thinner than a Japanese tare, and it is used as a marinade rather than a basting glaze. Shoyu, sugar or pineapple juice, ginger, garlic and a little sesame oil are combined without cooking, and the meat sits in it for several hours.
The sugar in the marinade means the sticks caramelise quickly and burn easily, so the grill must be moderate rather than fierce and the sticks need turning often. A final brush of reduced marinade in the last thirty seconds lacquers them — applied earlier, it blackens.
Choosing your ingredients
Beef sirloin or chuck, sliced thin against the grain and threaded ribbon-style onto the skewer, or cubed. Thin slicing is the more common island preparation and cooks faster. Bamboo skewers, soaked.
Shoyu (Japanese-style soy sauce, and the brand matters less than using shoyu rather than a Chinese dark soy), brown sugar or pineapple juice, fresh ginger and garlic, and sesame oil. Some recipes add a little sake or mirin, which is closer to the Japanese ancestor.
Mistakes that ruin it
A fierce grill
The sugar in the marinade burns fast. Moderate heat and frequent turning.
Glazing too early
Reduced marinade brushed on early blackens. It goes on in the last thirty seconds.
Thick slices
The island style is thin — it cooks in minutes and takes the marinade better.
Unsoaked bamboo skewers
They burn through over a sugary grill. Soak them well.
How it is served
As part of a plate lunch with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad, or on their own from a fundraiser grill, wrapped in foil. Sometimes with a pineapple chunk on the skewer. They are eaten warm rather than hot and hold up well, which is why they suit the fundraiser format.
Questions about Hawaiian teriyaki beef sticks
How is Hawaiian teriyaki different from Japanese?
It is sweeter and thinner, used as a marinade rather than as a cooked basting glaze, and often uses pineapple juice alongside or instead of mirin.
Why do my sticks burn?
The sugar in the marinade caramelises fast. Use moderate heat, turn often, and glaze only in the last thirty seconds.
What is an okazuya?
A Hawaiian Japanese-style deli selling prepared foods by the piece — a plantation-era institution and one of the places these skewers are sold.
Thin slices or cubes?
Thin slices threaded ribbon-style are the more common island preparation and cook faster.
