Sesame Hawaiian Chicken

Who likes Chinese food? Who likes sesame chicken or orange chicken?
My kids go crazy over orange chicken that is sweet and spicy at the same time.
They actually argue over who gets the leftovers (if there are any).
So when my friend, Erica, sent me a recipe from https://therecipecritic.com/ for
Hawaiian chicken that used pineapple, I knew I had to try it.
I have made a few tweaks and additions to the recipe to suit my family’s tastes.

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups corn starch
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce:

1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 – 20 oz. can pineapple chunks (can also use tidbits or crushed)

Toppings:

Sesame seeds
Chopped green onions

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all sauce ingredients together and set aside.
Trim chicken breasts and cut into chunks with kitchen shears.
Toss the chicken with the corn starch.
I just dump the corn starch in the chicken and shake the container.
You could also use a ziplock, whichever works for you.
Add the salt & pepper to the egg.
Heat up a skillet with a little bit of oil.
Dip each piece of chicken already coated in corn starch into the egg, and then put in the skillet.
Get crispy on all sides (do not cook through, just crisp the outside)
Place in 9 X 13 glass dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Crisp the chicken pieces in batches, do not crowd the pan.
As the chicken finishes, place in the glass dish.
When all chicken is done, pour the sauce on top of the chicken.

Bake at 325 degrees for one hour, lightly mixing every 15 minutes.

Mix all sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Trim chicken breasts and cut into chunks with kitchen shears.

Toss the chicken with the corn starch.

I just dump the corn starch in the chicken and shake the container.
You could also use a ziplock, whichever works for you.
 

Add the salt & pepper to the egg.

Heat up a skillet with a little bit of oil.
Dip each piece of chicken already coated in corn starch into the egg, and then put in the skillet.

Get crispy on all sides (do not cook through, just crisp the outside)
Place in 9 X 13 glass dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Crisp the chicken pieces in batches, do not crowd the pan.
As the chicken finishes, place in the glass dish.
As good as the chicken looks now, do not taste it, it’s still raw in the middle.

When all chicken is done, pour the sauce on top of the chicken.

Bake at 325 degrees for one hour, lightly mixing every 15 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, make some sides like rice, quinoa, veggies.
When the chicken is done, top with some toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion.

I served mine with steamed broccoli, sugar snap peas and brown rice.
My kids have declared this one of their favorite meals.
The sweet, slightly spicy, slightly sticky sauce with chunks of pineapple is so delicious and flavorful.
The chicken is melt in your mouth tender from cooking at a low temperature for an hour.
My husband for sure thought it would turn out dry, but I love to prove him wrong.
Even the leftovers reheat great in the microwave (if there are any ♥)

Enjoy!