When you want take-out at home, Pineapple Chicken is a great family friendly recipe! Chicken mixed with bell pepper and pineapple in a sweet savory sauce. Chinese inspired stir fry recipe. Gluten free
Cut your chicken into large bite sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove the stem and seeds from the bell pepper and cut into large chunks. Set aside.
If using fresh pineapple, trim off the skin and core and cut into large chunks.If using canned, drain and rinse.If using frozen, thaw and drain.Set the pineapple aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat on the stove.
When hot, add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken. Let the chicken stick for 2-3 minutes to develop color.
Flip or stir the chicken until cooked through completely, approximately 6-7 minutes total.
Add the bell pepper and pineapple to the chicken and cook until starting to get color and starting to soften, approximately 2-3 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking (or before cooking), make the sauce.In a small bowl, mix together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, chicken stock, hoisin, and brown sugar.
In a very small bowl/cup, mix the cornstarch with a Tablespoon of the sauce mixture. Whisk until smooth and add back into the sauce.This works much better than just adding it to all of the sauce, where it will clump up.
Add the garlic and ginger powders to the chicken mixture when it is cooked through, stir, and cook briefly until fragrant, approximately 30-60 seconds.
Add the sauce to the skillet with the chicken mixture and cook until thickened, approximately 3 minutes.
Serve with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. Serving over rice is recommended!
Notes
Fresh pineapple is best, but you can also use thawed and drained frozen pineapple, or drained and rinsed canned pineapple.If you want a sweet and spicy balance, add up to 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the sauce (or up to 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper).