A)With many hours relishing every cubic centimeter of air-conditioned office space?
B)In short skirts hitting downtown on a brisk night?
C)Taking a break after a much-dreaded-but-completely-necessary-otherwise-I-won't-graduate-until-2021 summer school course? Or,
D)At home, hanging out on a porch, enjoying a Fudgsicle?
Well, the answer is actually E) Breaking out the BBQ and grilling up something tasty... along with all of the above (minus the skirt wearing part. We here at The B.L.T. Project no longer have the figure necessary for skirts, nor have the proper instruments to wax our legs).
Keeping in line with the topic of school, you've probably noticed the lousy attendance record when it comes to new posts. Well that's because there's been some experimenting going on in the kitchen and you can throw out those books kids, because school's out for summer! (But don't do it for real because books are for reading, not throwing. This goes double for you rich kids with your iPads and other eBooks.)
What this really means is that the last few weeks have gone to planning, prepping and many hours of trial and error in the search for some original recipes. The Project always credits any recipe is modifies or adapts but it's been a while since we've done something off the book.
So, The Project decided to break out our grill and fire up some Pineapple-Orange Chicken Skewers. You can take all the sun screen, beach towels, water bottles and heat strokes in the GTA and it still won't even come close to how much this dish encapsulates the summer months.
These skewers are fantastic for the grill, great to share with guests and pair well with a freshly baked roll, pita or on a bed of rice. They've got a nice sweetness to them thanks to the pineapple and citrus in the marinade. The heat from the chilies is courtesy of 21 solid years of a Vietnamese upbringing. They're completely optional but if you like sweating bullets while you eat, go for four or five.
Pineapple-Orange Chicken Skewers
What's In It:
- 2lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4 inch sized chunks
- 1 small cored pineapple, cleaned and cut into bite-sized bits
- 1 large green bell pepper, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium onion, cut into eighths
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2-3 bird-eyed chili (optional)
- 4 tbsp of frozen concentrated orange juice OR 100 mL of orange juice
- 3 tbsp of pineapple juice
- 1 tbsp of honey
- 4 tbsp of soya sauce
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp of oil
- 1 tsp of grounded ginger
- 3 tbsp of water
- 10 wooden skewers
Makes 10 skewers
1. Let's start with the marinade. Whisk the pineapple and orange juice, oil, soya sauce, water, powdered ginger, honey, chilies (if using) and garlic in a small bowl. Set aside to refrigerate.
2. Next, cut the chicken breast into 3/4 inch-sized pieces like so:
3. Retrieve the marinade and pour three tablespoons of the sauce into the bottom of a shallow bowl.
4. Now, place the chicken into the bowl and pour the remaining marinade on top. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for one to two hours.
5. While the chicken in marinating you can chop the veggies if you haven't done so already. Also, now's a good time to soak your skewers into water to avoid them burning to a crisp when you start grilling.
6. When the chicken is done marinating, start layering your ingredients on the skewers. There's no particular order to this but keeping the pineapple next to the chicken imparts a wonderful flavour and tenderness to the meat.
7. Repeat until you've used up all your ingredients, returning the skewers to the refrigerator once finished. Now you can fire up your grill.
8. Once the grill has reached the 300°F temperature range, place the skewers on the grill diagonally to build some nice charbroiled marks. Keep some distance between each skewer to avoid overcrowding the grill and to make turning the food easier later on.
9. Once the skewers are in place, close the lid and grill for at least six to seven minutes per side, remembering to check on the BBQ every three minutes. The chicken should be no longer pink and juices should run clear when pierced with a fork.
10. Remove from the grill and savour with on a bowl of rice.
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