Party Pineapple Chicken

Here's a fun dish to try for hosting your own mini luau. Of course there's no whole roast pig at a vegan luau party; make these creative skewers of Gardein chicken the centerpiece of the meal instead.  You can decide how far in advance you want to prepare the chicken, as it can marinate anywhere from 2 hours to a full 12 hours.  If you're not a fan of Gardein, try cubed tofu or seitan for this dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/3 cups pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (such as Whole Foods 365)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 Gardein Tuscan chicken breasts (without sauce)
• Cooking spray

1. Combine the pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce, salt, and black pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag.  Cut the Gardein chicken into 1-inch cubes, and add to the marinade.  Seal and marinate in the fridge anywhere from 2 to 12 hours.  I prepared the marinade about 4 hours in advance.

2. Remove the chicken pieces from the bag, and reserve 1/2 cup marinade; discard the remaining marinade. Place the reserved marinade in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Continue to cook for 1 minute; set aside.

3. Thread the chicken pieces evenly onto 12 skewers.  Grill on an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan coated with cooking spray for 12 minutes.  Halfway through cooking, turn the skewers over and baste with the reserved marinade.

For a fun presentation, stick the ends of the skewers directly into a whole pineapple, and invite guests to serve themselves.

Other noshes such as store-bought dumplings, baked mochi squares (a popular Hawaiian snack), banana chips, cubed pineapple, and coconut water rounded out the menu for my luau evening.  

Nutrition Info:
6 servings (2 skewers), Calories 169

Tasting Notes:
There was a subtle coating of pineapple and teriyaki on the crisp outside of the chicken that was quite good.  To make these even better, I wouldn't discard the leftover marinade; use half of the marinade for basting while you grill, and keep the other half as a dipping sauce for serving.  That would really enhance the sweet pineapple flavor, and make this dish jump from good to great.  Extra points though for the fun presentation involved.

Rating:
3