Even though Autumn is in full swing in this neck of the woods, I am still thinking about summer food-kebabs on the grill! I love it! Every time I make these I love them even more. There is something about sweet and sour grilled pineapple, red peppers, and chicken with fried rice that is absolutely perfect. Additionally the leftovers are perfect for bringing to work the next day.
Hawaiian Chicken Skewers (from Sandra Lee)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 20 oz can pineapple chunks in juice (reserve juice for sauce)
1 Tbsp corn starch (mixed with 1 Tbsp. cold water)
1 red bell pepper (cut into one inch pieces)
1 package boneless skinless chicken thighs
kosher salt and course ground pepper
9-10 bamboo skewers (soaked in water for 30 minutes prior)
Put the reserved pineapple juice, corn starch slurry, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, this will take about 8 minutes, remove from heat and set aside. If you wish, separate out half of the mixture to use as a dipping sauce for the skewers
Slice the chicken thighs into smaller pieces, about 6 pieces. It's important to keep each piece uniform so they cook evenly. Core and seed the red pepper, cut each piece roughly about the same size, about one inch in size.
Assemble the skewers, alternate the ingredients as you wish. Continue this until all of your ingredients are used up. Sprinkle the skewers with a bit of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Then using a basting brush, dip it in the sauce and brush each skewer generously. All of those good flavors will caramelize and make that yummy flavor I love.
At this point I moved to the preheated outdoor grill, of course you could also do this indoors on a grill pan. Since all of the pieces are rather small they will cook quickly. After a few minutes, give each skewer and a little turn to cook evenly. At this point if you prefer you can baste a little more of that sauce on.
Once the skewers are complete, serve over your favorite side, ours is fried rice. Whatever your choice is, I hope you love these :)
