Meet your new favorite dish: Aloha Chicken! Tender and delicious chicken in a savory marinade with sweet grilled pineapple slices. It’s super easy to make ahead and throw on the grill on a busy weeknight, and the whole family will love it!
½teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes(or more if you want it to be spicy)
3large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2tablespoonstomato ketchup
1can pineapple rings(reserve ½ cup of the juice for the marinade)
3largeboneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half length-wise to make 6 thin filets of chicken
2tablespoonscornstarch
2-3scallions, sliced on the diagonal, for garnish
Instructions
Whisk the low sodium soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, ground ginger, red pepper flakes, garlic ketchup and pineapple juice until well combined.
Pour the marinade over the chicken breast and let it sit for at least 10 minutes or overnight (you can also freeze it in the marinade and thaw it for later use).
Grease the grill and heat to medium-high.
Place the chicken pieces and pineapple rings on the grill and reserve the marinade to make the sauce.
Grill them for 3-5 minutes on each side depending on thickness. Rotate them a little bit midway through each side if you want a nice crosshatch grill mark (this is optional). Keep an eye on them because every grill is different.
Once the internal temperature reaches 162 degrees remove them from the grill and rest them for 5 minutes tented in foil. During this time the temperature will rise to 165 degrees.
While the chicken rests, strain the marinade into a sauce pan. Heat over medium heat until it starts boiling. Whisk the cornstarch with a small amount of water to form a slurry.
Boil for 3 minutes then add the slurry and reduce to low heat to simmer for a couple minutes to thicken the sauce.
Drizzle the meat and pineapple with sauce, sprinkle with chopped scallions and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
I like to filet my chicken breasts so that they’re thinner. They have a quicker cooking time and are easier to eat. You can also pound it thinner.
Make sure you’re using low-sodium soy sauce. It’s much too salty with normal soy sauce.
Don’t throw out the pineapple juice from the can of pineapple rings — some of this goes into the marinade.
Whisk together all the marinade ingredients well so that the sugar dissolves.
Boil the marinade before adding the slurry. This step is crucial to kill any bacteria from the raw chicken.
Let the chicken rest for a couple of minutes before serving.
Storage and leftovers: This will last for up to 3-4 days covered in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the oven or microwave.