Hawaiian Sticky Chicken with Pineapple. Tender Hawaiian chicken breast, pineapple, onion and peppers, cooked in a sweet and salty sauce until deliciously caramelised.
Caramelised. It’s one of my favourite words, and yes, being English, I spell it with an ‘S’ not a ‘Z’. I’m one of those people who’s easily swayed, so I do hover between the those letters on the keyboard (especially since I have more US readers than UK readers). But I’m sticking with ‘S’ – at least until we win the lottery and move to California.
Where was I?
Oh yes, Caramelised.
Caramelise me a ham sandwich or a stick of celery and I’d probably eat it.
Caramelised chicken and pineapple recipe though? ooh, let’s just lean in for a closer look…..
Yeah, I ate that.
The kids devoured it like starved animals.
Chris was home late and he’d already eaten, but he ate it too.
The lure of the caramelised meat is just too hard to resist.
Not that that’s a bad thing 🙂
I love a good chicken and pineapple recipe, this Hawaiian Sticky Chicken with Pineapple (it’s got pineapple in, so i’m technically allowed to label it as Hawaiian right?) is healthier, cheaper, quicker and TASTIER than takeway.
Go on, make it this weekend!
If not this then what about one of these?
or
Sesame Chicken with a Sticky Asian Sauce
P.S Happy 4th of July to all my US friends for tomorrow! Hope you have a fun-filled weekend x
The Hawaiian Sticky Chicken with Pineapple Recipe:
Hawaiian Sticky Chicken with Pineapple
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts chopped into chunks
- 1 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp veg oil
- 1 onion peeled and chopped into wedges
- 1 red pepper chopped into chunks
- 432 g (15oz) can of chopped pineapple in juice
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 x 1” cube fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 2 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce use tamari for gluten free
- 1 tbsp tomato puree/paste usually gluten free, but best to check
To Serve:
- Coriander
- Boiled Rice
- Sriracha (add some to give the dish a little kick of heat)
Instructions
- Place the chicken breast chunks in a bowl and sprinkle on the cornflour and salt & pepper. Mix with your hands to cover the chicken in the cornflour.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan on high. When the oil is hot, add in the chicken. Cook on a high heat, moving the chicken around occasionally with a spatula, until the chicken is golden on all sides.
- Add in the onions and peppers, and fry with the chicken for a 1 minute.
- Drain the pineapple (reserving the juice) and dry the pieces on a piece of kitchen towel. Add the pineapple into the wok and cook for a further two minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for a further minute.
- Combine the reserved pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce (or tamari) and the tomato puree in a bowl. Mix together, then add to the wok.
- Continue cooking on high, allowing the sauce to bubble and reduce down, whilst stirring occasionally. It should take about 5-6 minutes on a high heat to reduce down and start making the chicken look darker and caramelized.
- Once cooked, turn off the heat and serve over boiled rice. Sprinkle with coriander and serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional Information
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Jess says
December 15, 2019 at 5:32 pmReally yummy! And very easy to make. My kids loved it too. Better than takeaway.
Thanks Nicky!
Andy Ross says
July 10, 2019 at 5:02 pmHad some fresh pineapple and chicken breasts to use up and found this recipe online.
As I had fresh Pineapple there wasn’t much juice but the dish still turned out to be delicious, with lots of subtle flavours from the Ginger, Soy Sauce, Garlic and Pineapple
Once the sauce was reduced down it gave a lovely sticky caramelised coating to the Chicken which remained lovely and tender.
The fresh Coriander added at the end is a must in my opinion as it compliments the rest of the flavours in the dish, a nice alternative to Sweet and Sour Chicken and one I would definitely make again
Marwa Samy says
June 9, 2019 at 12:22 pmI don’t have any soy sauce but i need to make this recipe today badly… i have lots of pineapple that needs to be consumed 😊
I have only fish sauce, worcestershire sauce and dates molasses.. any of these could replace the soy sauce? please help
Chris Corbishley says
June 13, 2019 at 8:33 amHi Marwa,
Sorry we haven’t tried it without soy sauce and couldn’t recommend those ingredients you suggested as a substitution for soy sauce.
Our Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken uses a good amount of pineapple https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/healthier-baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
MM says
May 10, 2018 at 8:47 amI love how a lot of your recipes can be adapted for gluten free diet, this is another yummy one.
Amanda Mccammon says
April 30, 2017 at 7:35 pmJust made this looks yummy
Trudy Shaw says
February 19, 2017 at 5:36 pmOMG this is my fave recipe for a loooooooong time. So quick! So delicious! Thank you Nicky 🙂 x
Julie @ Cooks with Cocktails says
June 17, 2016 at 10:59 pmMaking this tonight! Ive been searching for an hour for the perfect dish to make with my chicken breast Ive got thawing in the fridge. I had a serious dinner block in my brain and this dish has sorted me out 🙂
Nicky Corbishley says
June 27, 2016 at 5:41 amExcellent! I really hope you enjoyed it Julie 🙂
Jen says
February 29, 2016 at 10:38 amHi Nicky,
Is this recipie healthy?
thanks
Nicky Corbishley says
March 2, 2016 at 10:17 pmHi Jen, I probably wouldn’t call it healthy – as it does have a reasonable amount of salt, sugar and fat in there. But I don’t think it’s too bad. You could always add in some extra veg to make it more healthy. Yummly gives a nutritional breakdown of the recipe here: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Hawaiian-Sticky-Chicken-with-Pineapple-1208317?columns=5&position=8%2F56
Anna says
November 28, 2015 at 1:42 pmThis is a wonderful keeper. Like others, I dusted my chicken in corn starch before I started cooking it which definitely helped to thicken the sauce. I also chose to cut the sugar back by almost 1/2 which worked out perfect for us. As for the ginger, I added a little extra…I took my vegetable peeler and peeled fresh strips of ginger and added them directly to the pot. Everything else I kept the same. I served the chicken over rice with Chinese style sesame green beans on the side. Much less expensive the take-out and better tasting too. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing.
Nicky Corbishley says
November 30, 2015 at 4:32 pmSounds fab! Thanks for coming back and letting me know how it went. Your updates sound great too 🙂
Annie says
July 10, 2015 at 9:56 pmThis looks absolutely delightful! Beautiful recipe and sound like one my whole family would enjoy-thank you for sharing!
Nicky Corbishley says
July 12, 2015 at 10:10 pmThanks Annie 🙂
april says
July 5, 2015 at 11:42 pmIn America we call cornflour “cornstarch”. Thankfully I didn’t use cornflour/corn meal in my dish tonight because that would make it grainy, howerver that means i left out the corn starch and it wasn’t glossy/sticky. Just making the language connection.
pat says
July 9, 2015 at 7:09 pmThank you for figuring this out I was puzzeled.
Nicky Corbishley says
July 12, 2015 at 10:00 pmThanks for the heads-up April, I’ve updated the recipe to include the reference to cornstarch now 🙂
Pamela says
July 4, 2015 at 4:57 amYour chicken dish looks yummy. Thanks for sharing. Your have a great weekend.
Nicky Corbishley says
July 12, 2015 at 9:58 pmThanks for stopping by Pamela 🙂
Jhuls says
July 4, 2015 at 12:04 amI love chicken with pineapple… and caramelised? I love anything caramelised, too. 😀 This looks really mouth watering, Nicky. Have a lovely weekend. 🙂 xx
Nicky Corbishley says
July 12, 2015 at 9:58 pmThank you Jhuls – girl after my own heart 🙂