Honey Teriyaki Chicken with Ripe Pineapple Spears and Black and White Rice Balls

Honey Teriyaki Chicken with Ripe Pineapple Spears and Black and White Rice Balls

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water

  • 1 tablespoon butter

  • 1 teaspoon salt (eyeball it)

  • 1 rounded cup white rice

  • 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds (toasted white sesame seeds may be substituted)

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

  • Vegetable oil, for drizzling

  • Salt and pepper

  • 1 cup chicken broth or water

  • 1 inch ginger root, peeled and chopped

  • 1/4 cup honey

  • 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced

  • 1 ripe pineapple

Directions

Pre-heat a grill pan or grill over medium-high heat.

Bring water to a boil in a small, covered pot. Add butter, salt and rice to the pot. Return the water to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and replace cover. Simmer 18 minutes and remove rice from heat. Take the lid off the pot to cool rice a bit. Scoop rice into balls with an ice cream scoop and your hands. Dampen hands with water to work with rice if it is very sticky. Set rice balls on a plate and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

While your rice is cooking, lightly coat chicken with oil, salt and pepper. Place chicken on hot grill and cook six minutes on the first side.

While chicken is cooking, bring chicken broth and ginger to a boil. You can use less broth for a thicker sauce. Stir in honey. When honey has dissolved into broth, add teriyaki sauce and sesame oil and reduce heat to simmer.

Turn chicken and coat liberally with honey teriyaki sauce using a basting brush. Cook chicken four minutes, turn again and baste liberally again with sauce, then cook two minutes longer until cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate. Garnish chicken with sliced scallions.

While chicken cooks on the second side, peel and cut a ripe pineapple into eight spears: cut off top and bottom of pineapple. Set pineapple upright and trim away skin in strips from top to bottom. Halve pineapple lengthwise and quarter each half lengthwise. The core is edible, but may be trimmed if you wish. Serve with chicken and rice balls. Tip: pineapple can be very acidic. Spears set in cold water for just one minute will keep the fruit from stinging your lips when it is eaten.