Born in Hilo, Chef Sheldon Simeon acquired his love for cooking from his parents. His path led from Hilo High to the Culinary Institute of the Pacific onto an internship at Walt Disney World.
Upon returning to Hawaii, Simeon attended Maui Culinary Academy. After achieving the title “Fan Favorite” in the award-winning series Top Chef, Sheldon opened is casual eatery in Kahului Maui.
Sheldon described where his passion and namesake developed with this quote:
“The sound of rain on a tin roof is what reminds us of home. You know when the rain is coming; it’s soothing, calming, & comforting. In this tin roof garage under that Hilo rain is where we built our definition of home.
Home by what was played by the people that surrounded us, and most importantly, what was cooked!
Food is one of our definitions of home and what we love. We work closely with our local farmers, fishermen, ranchers, artisans, & purveyors to provide honest, ono food to our community. This is our humble beginning. This is our TIN ROOF.”
We are overjoyed to have had Chef Simeon in our kitchen.
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Chicken Hekka by Chef Sheldon Simeon of Tin Roof
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup shoyu
- 3/4 cup mirin
- 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 6 ounces dried cellophane or glass noodles
- 2 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 pounds boneless skin-on chicken thighs sliced into 1-inch-wide-stripes
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 cup carrot slices diagonal-cut
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 (14-ounce) can baby corn halved lengthwise on the diagonal
- 1 cup bamboo shoots canned sliced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups fresh watercress cut into 3-inch pieces
- 2 small baby bok choy trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 ounces aburage sliced into ½-inch-wide stripes
- 8 ounces extra firm tofu cubed
- 6 scallions cut into 2-inch pieces
- Cooked rice for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, shoyu, and mirin and set aside. Place the dried shiitakes in a bowl and cover with warm water to soften. Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with warm water to soften.
- In a large wok or Dutch oven, heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, increase the heat to high, and saute until the meat is mostly cooked, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the ginger and garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the carrots, onion, baby corn, bamboo shoots, shoyu mixture, and Chicken Broth.
- Reserving the soaking liquid, drain the mushrooms, cut off and discard any stems, and slice the caps. Add them and the soaking liquid to the pan. Bring all of this to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Drain the cellophane noodles (they should be softened at this point) and cut into 3-inch lengths. Add them to the pan along with baby bok choy, aburage and tofu. Simmer until bok choy are blanched but firm about 2 to 3 minutes. Finish by folding in watercress and scallions.
- Serve with cooked rice if desired.
- Serves 4-6
Made per recipe, reducing the sugar. It was still outstanding!