Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry (Video)

This pineapple chicken stir fry can be a festive dish for any celebration occasion or family gathering. It is salty, sweet, sour and spicy, with an all-around balanced taste. 

Particularly I like stirring in some pickled ginger when finishing cooking this dish. A bit of pickled ginger makes a big difference in taste and increases the family’s appetite.

Pineapple is in season down under here. They are big, sweet and fragrant. I chose one was not too large and we can finish it in one go.

A side story, a lady bumped into me while I was choosing a pineapple in the nearby supermarket. She told me she’s a dietitian when she was young. She explained why she liked pineapples and how often she ate. Yes, she eats pineapple every day.

After chatting with the lady, I feel like eating pineapples more often. I used to cook this dish with the canned, sliced pineapples. I feel cutting a fresh pineapple is quite challenging. I gathered the courage from nowhere. I said to myself, it’s not a big deal. It only costs 2 dollars. After trying to cut a pineapple once, I feel like it’s not that difficult as I thought.

How to cut a pineapple? You might take a look at the tutorial video. You’ll get the hang of it as well.

When this pineapple chicken stir fry dish is served on the table, my whole family was so intrigued to dig in. This dish was gone so quickly.

Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

(Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Course: Stir Fry
Cuisine: Chinese
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

• 1 (about 250 gm) fresh pineapple, peeled and roughly cut
• 200 gm chicken thigh (or chicken breast)
• 45 gm pickled ginger, optional
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• Spring onion, diced, for garnish

Marinade:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp sugar
• ½ tsp corn flour (corn starch)
• 1 tsp oil

Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp corn flour (corn starch)
• ½ tsp sugar

Method :

1. Use a sharp knife to slice off both crown and end of the pineapple. Cut away the outer hard skin off of it. Remove the spiky “eyes” on the flesh. Cut the whole pineapple into halves vertically, then cut into 4 quarters. Cut away the hardcore. Cut into chunks. (In the tutorial video, you’d know how to go about cutting a pineapple exactly. It’s not that difficult as you thought.)
2. Wash the pineapple chunks with salted water. Drain well. Set aside.
3. Cut the chicken into 2½-cm / 1-inch sized pieces. Mix with marinade. Set aside for 15 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a wok/pan. Add chicken. Pan fry until its colour is changed and cooked through. Towards the end, cover with a lid to make sure the chicken is cooked with its steam inside and get cooked thoroughly. Beware not to cover too long as you don’t want the chicken too wet.
5. Push the chicken to the sides of the wok. Add garlic in the middle. Add some oil if necessary. Add the pineapple chunks. Season with salt. Stir to combine. Pour in the sauce. Combine well and cook to your preferred consistency. Stir in the pickled ginger. Sprinkle spring onion. Serve hot immediately.

Notes：

• Make sure the chicken is cooked through.
• You can use canned pineapple for convenience. It’s a good idea to choose the canned pineapple in nature juice instead of syrup.
• Pineapple is fruit. Don’t need to cook too long. Otherwise, it’ll turn sour. Just combine with other ingredients and get them heated up.
• I used the pickled ginger for sushi that easily found in Asian grocers. The pickled ginger goes perfectly with pineapple.