Description
Delectable pineapple chicken and rice brings tropical Hawaiian flavors to your dinner table. Juicy chicken pieces mingle with sweet pineapple chunks over fluffy rice, delivering a complete meal you’ll savor with each delightful bite.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1.5 lbs (680 g) boneless chicken breasts
- 1 can sliced pineapple (20 oz/567 g, reserve juice)
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 servings cooked rice
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preparation: Season chicken breasts thoroughly with thyme, salt, and pepper, ensuring complete and even coverage on both surfaces.
- Searing: Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Carefully place seasoned chicken into the pan, cooking until a rich golden-brown crust develops on each side (5-7 minutes per surface), creating a flavorful exterior.
- Sauce Composition: Whisk pineapple juice with cornstarch to create a smooth slurry, simultaneously blending remaining juice with Dijon mustard, honey, and finely chopped garlic to develop a complex flavor profile.
- Cooking Process: Pour the Dijon-pineapple mixture into the skillet with seared chicken. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently to ensure complete chicken cooking, allowing flavors to meld (approximately 15 minutes).
- Sauce Refinement: Remove chicken momentarily from the skillet. Elevate heat to medium, introducing cornstarch mixture and stirring continuously until sauce reaches a luxurious, glossy thickened consistency.
- Final Assembly: Return chicken to the skillet, thoroughly coating with the glossy sauce. Artfully arrange pineapple slices around and atop the chicken, warming for an additional 2-3 minutes to integrate flavors.
- Plating: Serve the succulent chicken over fluffy rice, drizzling remaining sauce for enhanced flavor complexity. Garnish with reserved pineapple slices to create a vibrant, appetizing presentation.
Notes
- Sear for Flavor Lock: Browning chicken creates a delicious crust that seals in moisture and develops deep, rich taste profiles.
- Sauce Thickening Technique: Cornstarch slurry is crucial for achieving a smooth, glossy sauce without lumps or watery consistency.
- Juice Management Tip: Reserve pineapple juice carefully – it’s the secret weapon for creating a complex, sweet-tangy sauce.
- Low and Slow Cooking: Gentle simmering ensures chicken remains tender and juicy while absorbing maximum flavor from the aromatic sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Hawaiian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 360
- Sugar: 16 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg