Thanks for the ideas, Mom, Emeril and many others. I’ve done countless riffs on this wonderful dish. This serves two with leftovers. Add another 1/2 chicken breast and this will easily serve four. You might cook 1.5 cups of rice if that is the case.
Today I used chicken. For the sauce, mince and sautee 3-5 garlic cloves, 1-2Tbsp fresh ginger, and a jalapeno without seeds in a bit of veg oil. You’ll want to have on hand:
canned pineapple juice from a can of chunk pineapple in juice, not syrup, 1/2 cup but save the rest for later
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
a few drops of sesame oil (the dark roasted kind you need to keep in the frig)
Taste and see if it’s too pungent, if so add a Tbsp or two of chicken stock to the sauce.
Add the above ingredients to the garlic/pepper/ginger melee and boil for a few minutes. Add 1 T cornstarch with the same amount of pineapple juice from the can. You should have just enough. Use a fork to make sure there are no lumps to the cornstarch mixture and add, stirring, to the sauce to thicken, then take off the heat.
You’ll need some long-grained rice, about a cup of rice for two, as that’ll leave extra. Follow package directions and please do not use instant rice.
Take an onion, a green or red pepper or two and cut into bite sized chunks. Cut one whole chicken breasts the same. Start cooking the vegetables and then add the chicken, stir-frying as you go. Use little salt but pepper well. When nearly everything is cooked add the sauce and drained pineapple chunks.
Serve over rice with sesame seeds as a garnish. Cheers!
p.s. I buy sesame seeds once a year from a specialty grocery, place them in a zip-top bag with date on it and take out all the air and put it in the freezer so I can take out a bit from time to time for this and for baked goods.
Cooking with Dee 