Introduction
This Hula Chicken Recipe creates a dish that is both fruity and spicy. The use of chicken thighs means the chicken remains moist and tasty.
While the result is not strictly low carb, this is one of those compromises that one has to make in order to keep the whole family happy. My wife adapted this recipe from one which contained, for example, quite a lot of added sugar. She removed the sugar and adjusted some of the ingredients, leaving a dish that is just as good and which serves up the spicy Hawaiian kick she wanted (I have no idea if it's Hawaiian or not, I think it's Chinese, but it's got pineapple in it.
).
I've found if I leave out any rice or substitute, I still get a more than low enough carb meal.
By stir frying the peppers separately in the same pan that was used to fry the pineapple and chicken, and reduce the sauce, you get a touch of the sauce flavour on the peppers, but the peppers don't end top soft, gooey and almost lost as they do in many dishes.
Completing the cooking in the oven allows the sauce to thicken even further, giving the chicken a bit of a glaze, reminiscent of what you'd get on a rack of ribs.
This hula chicken recipe is a bit of a favourite, but not too often because it does require a little more effort in the kitchen than I would like.
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Hula Chicken Recipe
Serves 2 Adults and 2 Children
Ingredients
8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs - whole
425g Tin Pineapple Chunks
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Tomato Pureé
1/4 Cup Chicken Stock
1 Tbsp Tabasco Sauce
3 Garlic Cloves - chopped
2" Cube Ginger - chopped
1 Red Pepper - cut into chunks
1 Green Pepper - cut into chunks
Method
Mix soy the soy sauce, tomato pureé, chicken stock, tabasco sauce, garlic and ginger to make a marinade.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and put it in the fridge for at least an hour to marinade.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (360ºF).
Drain the pineapple, reserve the juice and cook the chunks to soften them. Set to one side.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook to brown the meat. Set to one side.
Add the pineapple juice to the marinade, bring to a simmer and allow it to reduce by half.
Mix the pineapple, chicken and marinade together, pour into an oven-proof dish and cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
Add a little coconut oil to the pan everything else was cooked in and briefly starry the peppers.
Serve with rice and sweetcorn for those who eat starchy carbs, or with cauliflower rice for those who don't.
