Tahitian Chicken

We had some friends come over last night for dinner and a movie. They brought the movie (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) and I made dinner to go with it. Naturally, I cooked Tahitian chicken! Ok, follow my thought process here – Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand so I should make New Zealand-ish food. I am too busy/lazy to look up New Zealand-ish food. I have Tahitian chicken on the menu. Tahiti is approximately 2688 miles from New Zealand so they are practically neighbors. Tahitian chicken is the perfect meal to go with this movie.

Tahitian chicken is quite easy to make but it does require extra cooking time. In the past I’ve cooked this in a stock pot as opposed to skillet and the sauce turns out much better that way. Using a skillet leads to much less sauce so if you like sauce use a stock pot.

I like to add bell peppers to this recipe. I keep chopped frozen bell peppers in the freezer for times just like this. The frozen bell peppers are leftovers from previous recipes and so they are basically free additions!  This recipe does need to be served over something. I prefer brown rice because it holds up well to the chicken.

3 T. cornstarch

2 T. soy sauce

2 lb. chicken, cut into cubes

1 T. vegetable oil

8oz. can pineapple chunks

1/3 c. cider vinegar

¼ c. brown sugar

1 tsp garlic salt (feel free to add more)

¼ c. water

Ina medium mixing bowl combine 2 T. cornstarch with the soy sauce. Add chicken cubes and toss until all pieces are coated. Heat oil in a skillet (or stock pot). Add chicken and brown. Remove and strain.

Drain pineapple and reserve juice. Return chicken to the skillet. Add pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar and garlic salt. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 45 minutes. Add pineapple (and peppers) and cook until warmed through.

Dissolve remaining cornstarch in a small amount of cold water. Add dissolved cornstarch to chicken mixture. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened.  Serve.

I honestly have no idea where I got this recipe. It's been in my food binder since I was in high school.