Light Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Light Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Skewers is a perfect match of 2 cultures; a Japanese touch consisting in a teriyaki marinated chicken with an Hawaiian flair with its grilled pineapple pieces. A dynamic fresh bite guaranteed!

Light Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Skewers is a variation of what my mom used to make when I was a kid. Back in the days, coming from this small town up north in Canada, the supermarket wasn’t having much choice of “Asian” ingredients except for the soy sauce. My mom would marinate the chicken simply in soy sauce for an hour and the pineapple touch would bring the contrasting sweet touch to the dish. There is something about a grilled pineapple that goes beyond taste, it’s natural taste is enhanced exponentially and also the grilling makes it slightly caramelised and goes to perfection with the contrasting savoury marinated meat.

This recipe is my own twist on my mom’s minimalist recipe, but the base stays similar; a dynamic mix of sweet and savoury. The teriyaki sauce is lighten up with just 1 tbsp of sugar, just a touch since the pineapple will bring also some sweetness to the dish. A fairly easy marinade made under 2 minutes and frankly impossible to mess up for a fantastic result each time! I’ve served the skewers on a bed of cilantro leaves which just bring some extra fresh touch to the dish and a side of sweet potato baked fries. A delicate, fruity and savoury bite!

So let’s make those Hawaiian-Teriyaki skewers!

Light Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Makes about 7 medium skewers | Marination: 30 minutes | Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast
• 1/4 of a pineapple cut into small cubes
• 1 onion cut into large pieces
• salt and pepper

Marinade

• 1 tbsp of mirin
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 1 tbsp of cornstarch
• 1 garlic clove finely minced
• 15g ginger finely minced

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into small 4 cm large cubes
2. Mix all the ingredients from the marinade
3. Add the marinade to the chicken pieces and marinade in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour
4. Soak the bamboo skewers in water during that time
5. Add the pieces of marinated chicken, pineapple and onions to the skewers and lay them on a grill, keep the leftover of marinade to brush the skewers mid way
6. Cook at 180°C (350F) for 25 minutes, brush them with the leftover of marinade once or twice while it cooks
7. Serve on a bed of cilantro leaves

Enjoy!