Hawaiian Chicken

crummy photo - sorry!

We went to Hawaii in the summer of ‘08 and it was one of the most magnificent trips ever. We loved it there. The scenery, the climate, the people, the beaches – and of course the food. I think I ate fish every single night and we had shave ice many times. One of my favorite Hawaiian flavors is passion fruit. I can’t seem to find passion fruit juice or extract around here, so I’m left to improvise with other Hawaiian favorites.

Recently, I was in the mood for something from the islands, but we had had fish a lot so it was time to shift gears. I had chicken breasts and mangoes. I made a quick dash to the store and bought some fresh pineapple too.

I dug out some of the recipes I have from Sam Choy and adapted his Sweet and Sour Chicken Breasts with Tropical Fruits into a recipe I’m calling Hawaiian Chicken.

Marinate the chicken breasts in the following mixture:

1/2 cup tamari sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 tbsp water

1 1/2 tsp brown sugar

I marinated mine for a couple of hours, but do it for at least half an hour. While that is marinating, cut up one mango and dice about a cup of fresh pineapple.

To cook, I melted a little butter in the pan, added the chicken breasts and about half the marinade and cooked over medium high heat. I let the marinade cook down a bit then covered it to cook the breasts all the way through. I did add some chicken broth (between 1/4 and 1/2 cup) as I went along when I felt the sauce was getting too dark or too thick. When they are close to done, add the fruit and 1/4 cup bottled sweet and sour sauce and salt and pepper. Cook until the fruit softens and the sauce is thick – about 3 minutes.