sesame barbecue chicken with pineapple fried rice

really, super thought that i could finally level with myself > productivity while ‘enjoying’ forced quarantine, but as it turns out, NOPE, i am still very much who i am even during a week-long hacking cough parade, and in between staring out the window when my brain got cloudy, i cooked things and ate things and daydreamed about more things to cook and eat. so here we are, on the other side and having very joyfully been released back into the world, with a stack of recipes and photos i now need to address, edit, type, and make beautiful for you.

in fairness, i didn’t ~totally hate being trapped indoors for 10 days. i LOVE work from home days, i LOVE being horizontal for all my favorite activities, and i LOVED taking frequent baths because it made my chest feel better and my nose drain a wee bit faster. i did not totally love not being able to interact with other humans besides my manpanion, but everyone already has their own quarantine stories from the last 3 years, so i’ll spare you.

ANYway, steering myself back to dinner-related things.

sesame barbecue chicken with pineapple fried rice! a brainchild that came from a marathon of staring out my windows and thinking, ‘hmmm, looks could out there, let’s eat something festive’ and for whatever reason, pineapple felt festive, as did low-maintenance fancy barbecue chicken. so here we are!

we’re basically doctoring up barbecue sauce that you probably already have in your fridge with a few key ingredients to give this more of an asian-flavored spin, adding juicy pineapple to a veggie fried rice, and tucking into beautiful, QUICK, sweet salty sticky ricey bowls. if you don’t have soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and honey in regular rotation in your pantry, this is your nudge to go gather those things now, because they will elevate this dish and roughly any other one that you want to make incredibly tasty.

here are a few other recipes that’ll be up this same alley + help you utilize your ingredients! :

shrimp + quinoa bowls with peanut sauce
orange tofu and broccoli
chicken bulgogi wraps
honey sriracha meatballs with sheet pan peppers and broccoli
sweet and sticky garlic shiitake noodles with crispy tofu

a few things before we get started:

- this is a perrrrrrf, quick weeknight dinner to toss together in a pinch. yes it requires gathering a few more ingredients (and maybe some you don’t always have in the front of your pantry) but also yes it’s most worth it.
- think of this is a nod to a hawaiian fried rice situation, with barbecue-y sweet and sticky chicken. bonus points because you get to use actual barbecue sauce and make it ~ fancier ~.
- you can definitely prep all parts of this dish ahead of time! the rice will hold exceptionally well for meal prep, and the sauce can be made beforehand as well. toss the chicken in the egg + flour when you’re ready to cook and you’ll be good to go.
- play around with the veggies here! if you don’t love peas, try broccoli or bok choy. sub tofu or shrimp for the protein! so many possibilities here, friends.

sesame barbecue chicken with pineapple fried rice
makes: 2 servings
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes

for the sesame barbecue chicken:
2 chicken breasts, diced into 2in pieces
1 egg, beaten
1c flour (gluten free baking flour works here as well)
1/2c barbecue sauce - use your fave!
1/2c soy sauce or coconut aminos
1/4c honey
1tbsp rice vinegar
2tsp sesame oil
1tsp garlic powder
pinch of chili flake
pinch of salt
sesame seeds, for coating

for the pineapple fried rice
1c cooked rice
1c pineapple, small diced
1/2 an onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/2c peas (thawed from frozen works great here)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1tbsp coconut oil
1tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper, to taste
scallions + lime juice, for topping

preheat the oven to 425.
whisk the barbecue sauce, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, chili flake, and salt until smooth. heat a sauce pan over medium, and simmer the sauce for 5-7 minutes, until thickened and reduced by half. set aside.

line a baking sheet with parchment paper. place the beaten egg in one bowl, and the flour in another. working in batches, dredge each piece of chicken in the egg first, shaking off the excess, then toss lightly in the flour, again shaking off the excess. place each egged and floured piece of chicken onto the baking sheet. once each piece is coated, transfer the baking sheet to the oven. bake for 10-12 minutes, then pour half of the sauce over the chicken, tossing each to coat completely. transfer the baking sheet back to the oven for another 10 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through and the sauce starts to caramelize. top the chicken with sesame seeds (for crunch!) once out of the oven.

while the chicken is cooking, heat the coconut and sesame oils in a skillet over medium high heat. add the pineapple, and saute for 5 minutes. this will allow for some browning of the pineapple, and for it to release some of its’ juices into the pan. then add the onion, carrots, garlic, salt, and pepper. saute for another 5-7 minutes, stirring every so often. add the cooked rice, and stir to mix everything together.

dish up rice into a bowl, then top with chicken. pour the remaining sauce over top of each bowl, and sprinkle with scallions + squeezes of lime.