Grilled Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs
This past weekend was most definitely the BEST weekend I’ve had in a looooong time. As some of you know, for the past month I was either working or moving or unpacking or reading {fifty shades-wha-wha?}. So we were long do for some good ol’ fun.
It started off with dinner Friday night. The girls were over at a friend’s house having a slumber party, so we took off to a local steakhouse and stuffed our faces. We’re talkin’ a crisp wedge salad, Gorgonzola steak {for me} and Cajun steak {for him} fresh baked bread and beers. This alone would be enough to call the weekend fantastic… but there was more.
We had friends over for fajitas on Saturday and laughed until my sides hurt {which means hopefully I’m that much closer to getting a 6 pack!}. We also got the girls a trampoline which hopefully {fingers crossed} nobody breaks an arm.
ohhhhh yeah…. and this happened.
And it all starts with a simple marinade and a jar.
Drop in a half cup of dark brown sugar.
Peel and mince {and I mean MINCE} up a teaspoon and a half of ginger. You could also grate it on a microplane or even press it in a garlic press. I was feeling chef-y so I went for the knife.
Do the same thang to 3 cloves of garlic.
Drop both the ginger and garlic on top of the sugar.
Add two tablespoons tamari… or soy sauce if that’s what you have on hand.
Lastly pour in a cup of pineapple juice.
Whisk to break up that clump-o-sugar in the bottom and keep it going until it’s completely dissolved.
I like it when a marinade sits for a bit and has the chance for the flavors to meld. I’d give it a half hour… but if you’re in a pinch you could use it straight-away. I made this in the earlier afternoon, so I parked it in the fridge until it was dinner time.
Now it’s time to skewer.
Besides cubing up 3 chicken breasts, I also cubed up the two peppers, some fresh pineapple and I also halved & cubed up a sweet onion too.
I arranged them all in bowls so it was easy to grab and skewer. I started with the onion and then a pineapple… move on to the chicken and then peppers… repeat.
Arrange the skewers in a shallow pan. You could even use a giant zip lock bag… that was my plan but in 3 trips in two days to the grocery store I still managed to forget to pick them up so I went with the pan.
Shake and pour the marinade over top, making sure to coat each and every kebab.
Let them marinate for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so.
Heat up your grill to medium-medium high and cook for about 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and the veggies and pineapple are caramelized.
Ohhh would ya just look at that char!
Remove to a plate and stare… just stare at the deliciousness before you.
I slid the grilled chicken andveggies off the skewers and served everything over brown rice. To finish them off I just sprinkled them with some green onions and lightly {and I mean LIGHTLY} drizzled more tamari over top. In between bites of gingery-garlic-y kebab I sipped on a glass of crisp white wine and all was right in the world… weekend was a blast, now back to the grind.
I hope your weekend was just as fun!
Grilled Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs
Who doesn't love food on a stick?
Yield: 4-6 servings depending
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 15-18 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour approx.
Ingredients:
FOR THE MARINADE:
1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar
3 cloves Garlic, minced or pressed in a garlic press
1-1/2 teaspoons grated or minced Fresh Ginger
1 cup Pineapple Juice
2 tablespoons Tamari {or Soy Sauce}, plus more for drizzling
FOR THE KEBABS:
3 boneless-skinless Chicken Breasts, cubed
1 Red Bell Pepper, cubed {seeds and stem discarded}
1 Orange Bell Pepper, cubed {seeds and stem discarded}
2-3 cups Fresh Pineapple, cubed
1 Sweet Onion, cut in to chunks
EXTRAS:
Metal Skewers
4 cups cooked Brown Rice
Sliced Green Onions
Directions:
In a jar or bowl combine the marinade ingredients. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Let the marinade sit to get the flavors to meld and store in the fridge until ready to use
Skewer the chicken, pineapple, peppers and onions alternately and place into a shallow pan or large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over top and toss to coat.
Marinate for 30 minutes, turning every so often.
Preheat your grill to medium-medium high and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly and their is a good char on the vegetables.
Serve with rice of your choice, sprinkle with sliced green onions and drizzle a little more tamari {or soy sauce} over top.
Enjoy!
Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
It definitely sounds like you had a wonderful weekend! So when can I come over to play on that trampoline?
As for these kebabs – wow! Love all these flavors! I definitely need to make this for my next BBQ!
WOW! That looks delicious!…The rest of the weekend sounds pretty good too!
SO glad you were able to enjoy a weekend Laurie – kicking back and having some all around FUN after moving is certainly needed. I may sound boring but kebabs are easily a favorite supper of mine. Fresh off the grill, pineapple necessary. That marinade SCREAMS summer.
Woah…those flavour sound intense! A perfect meal to round off what sounds like a perfect weekend.
These look amazing! I always love having amazing weekends!
Maaaaaaamaaaaaaaaaaa.
Totally wish I had this recipe this weekend! I was looking for a good marinade like this, definitely going to have to try this one out. Yum!:)
What a delicious marinade! I can see myself using this a whole lot on some pork as well.
simplyscratch replied: — August 6th, 2012 @ 3:38 pm
Absolutely! I was thinking the same thing… next time for sure!
ok so i just have to admit – i bought fresh ginger for the very first time this weekend, peeled it, put it in the freezer and have used my microplane to grate it like 4 times already. LOVE IT!
Hey girl! These look amazing, but coming from an onion expert, we suggest Spanish onions for any type of grilling or cooking. They contain more sugar than a traditional “sweet” onion and when cooked, the flavor is amazing. We like to say, they are “sweet with heat” and have a real onion kick when raw! Thanks for the stream of yummy recipes!
What a perfect, new dinner idea! Nice summer marinade
date night is so fun! so glad you got to do it and take a night off and relax finally!! these look beautiful & i loooove the colors!
I’m always looking for new chicken ideas, and this is perfect because I, for one, love food on a stick
Want! I love these flavors!
Your marinade sounds like the ultimate one for summer! And if I have it during winter – it will take me back to happy warm days. Anyway, bookmarked
Thank you for sharing, Laurie!
what a great weekend! I love when we can have a dinner away because my son is at a friends house. These chicken kebabs sound so full of flavor and delicious. I love that marinade!
The marinade sounds yummo! Any thing with garlic and ginger has got to be good. And grilled pineapple is one of my faves!
Gorgeous photos. I can really just imagine how wonderful these tastes…and how soon I will be making them!
Could I broil these? I don’t have a grill. Guess I could bake too?
These look delicious! Especially the sauce..thanks for the recipe.
Mmmm these kebabs look to-die-for and that marinade is insane! I don’t have a grill at my college apartment, but I could definitely find a use for the marinade, maybe on roasted veggies with some steak or chicken
Great post!!
I made this within two days of the post and it’s delicious. Really simple ingredients that come together to make a quick, very tasty meal. I charred the heck out of my kebabs, so next time I think I’ll grill the chicken and veg separately. I also took the leftover marinade and boiled it down to make a sauce and it was perfect spooned on top of the kebabs with coconut rice. Thanks for this recipe!
The marinade sounds awesome! We eat so much chicken and I always love to find new recipes!
It’s true, even the marinade needs to marinade! This sounds and looks amazing…. and I have been craving pineapple lately, can’t wait to make this!
This looks delicious! I like to turn my favorite chinese food into kebabs too. Beef and broccoli, orange chicken, etc. Kebabs are the best!
Thanks for the recipe!