30-Minute Meal: Pineapple Chicken

No take-out tonight - you can whip up this tropical-inspired dinner in 30-minutes!

Something about pineapple and rice takes me to a tropical paradise. This light, crispy chicken in a sticky, sweet sauce is the perfect compliment to creamy rice. It's pretty much faux-takeout and everything you'd want it to be. Trust me - there were no leftovers.

The real trick here is to use chicken thighs for moist, tender chicken bites that melt in your mouth. Chicken breast can dry out too much and it won't give you the same results. And this goes without saying, but serving this dish in pineapple boats gives this 30-minute meal some major WOW factor.

Sticky Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole pineapple, diced

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

• 2 Tbsp EVOO

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice

• 3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 1 tsp white pepper

• 1/2 cup cornstarch

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce

• 2 Tbsp soy sauce

• 1 Tbsp sesame oil

• 2 tsp sweet chili oil

• dash fish sauce

• 1 cup dry rice

Instructions

1. In a pot, boil 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup pineapple juice. Cook rice until light and fluffy, approximately. Set aside.

2. While rice cooks, combine chicken thighs in rice wine vinegar, white pepper, and 1 tsp of sweet chili oil in a bowl

3. Dredge in cornstarch and coat evenly

4. Heat EVOO in a wok over medium-high heat and lightly fry chicken until thoroughly cooked.

5. In a saucepan, whisk together hoisin sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, remaining sweet chili oil, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Bring to a light boil and simmer to reduce.

6. Toss chicken, diced pineapple, and sauce together over low heat.

7. Serve with rice in the pineapple boat

Enjoy!