Pineapple Sesame Chicken

I saw this recipe on the Picky Palate blog, and I knew this one one was right up my alley. I added pineapple to my dish, and it was a very tasty addition. The recipe calls for grated ginger, and I highly recommend buying a ginger grater (they sell them at Asian food stores, and I think I got mine for about 95 cents!) When you rub the ginger along the grater, the fibrous root is left behind, and it produces this wonderfully fragrant and delicate ginger pulp, which incorporates nicely in a marinade. If you don’t have a ginger grater, you can use a Microplane rasp, but the grater is definitely worth a trip to your local Asian grocer.

Our oldest complained for over 10 minutes before dinner that he was hungry and he didn’t want this dinner, because he didn’t like it. I told him that he had to try everything on his plate, and if he didn’t like it then I’d consider fixing him something else. Wouldn’t you know that he ate everything on his plate and even asked for seconds!!! We’ve fought tooth and nail to get him to eat broccoli, and I believe that is the first time he’s ever eaten broccoli. For that reason alone this dish is a keeper, oh and the dish is really really good too!

This dish is super tasty, super easy to make, and you can also substitute tofu for the chicken for a vegetarian dish.
Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons pineapple juice from a 20 oz can of pineapple chunks
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ginger (grated)
• 1 pound chicken (cut into bite sized pieces)
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 pound broccoli florets, blanched in salted water
• 1 20 oz can of pineapple chunks
• cooked rice
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• green onions to garnish

Directions:

1. Mix the soy sauce, pineapple juice, honey, brown sugar, ginger, and chicken in a ziploc bag and marinate in the fridge for about an hour.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the chicken and marinade to the pan and saute until the chicken is cooked and the sauce begins to thicken.
4. Meanwhile, blanch broccoli florets in salted water until tender, but still crisp.
5. When chicken is cooked, add blanched broccoli florets and pineapple chunks. Toss to heat through.
6. Serve on cooked rice and garnish with the sesame seeds and green onion.

Pineapple Sesame Chicken: