Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice

I took on a new job: subbing for an intro psych course, and after meeting the lovely professor who I was replacing (I took a course from him in 1998/1999) and his lovely new Philipino wife, I was inspired by her honey/mustard/garlic bacon-wrapped shrimp. I wanted to make something simple and flavourful, so I came home to an overripe pineapple, old and dry rice and defrosted chicken breasts. I was super surprised how yummy my first attempt at pineapple chicken came out, and my chicken turned out very tender! So I thought I should share. I think you should use the veggies or fruit you have that go together (e.g. pear + raspberry + onions, pineapple + sweet peppers, mango + sweet peppers, etc...) so mix and match until you find your favourite combinations!

Stick in a bowl, turn it upside down - and voila!
Dim sum worthy presentation. :)  

Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice
Prep time: 30 minutes (add more to fresh cut your pineapple)
Cook time: 15 - 20 minutes


2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 large onion (that's all I had), diced or minced
2 chicken breasts (or drumsticks, or whatever chicken you have, deboned) diced or 1" cubes
1 cup diced pineapple, the sweeter the better.
3/4 cup diced sweet red pepper
3/4 cup diced yellow pepper
green onions, finely chopped
2 - 3 cups day old rice (Using leftover rice is good because it is usually pretty dry)
Spinach as garnish/bedding

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Rub salt and pepper into chicken before cubing. Cover and let sit while prepping other veggies.

Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a large pan on medium high to high.
Add garlic and onions and fry until aromatic.
Add chicken, and fry until outsides are cooked.
Add pineapple, and stir fry.
Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and honey, and stir fry (continually stirring to prevent burning).
Add peppers and stir fry until chicken juices flow.
Quickly add the rice, stir until all the moisture is absorbed by the rice, breaking up the rice as it cooks.
Add green onions and stir in.

Remove from heat, serve on bed of spinach (for nutrition).

This is pretty healthy - not much oil, not much sugar. It's not *pow* in your face flavour, but the subtle meshing of the simple flavours of the sweet honey/garlic/pineapple and salty sauces make it delicious. Of course, add more sauce/honey to enhance the flavour, but I am happy with subtle. I am going to use mango next time. :)