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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Grilled Chicken and Veggies with Thai Pineapple Rice

I love grilling, especially on a day like yesterday when it was so hot we didn't want to cook indoors. I had planned this meal for the weekend, but when our plans changed I just pushed it back to Monday.

Grilled vegetables are nice and simple, but they taste fantastic. I skewered the vegetables so it would be easier to handle them on the grill:


Just a little salt, pepper and oil went on the vegetables, but I marinated the chicken in pineapple juice, soy sauce, oil, and pepper for about 2 hours before I skewered the pieces.


This was the first time I can remember the chicken actually tasting like the marinade. It was perfectly cooked, juicy but with a slight char, and the pineapple and soy sauce flavors really came through. The vegetables were also perfectly cooked. We both really like grilled zucchini.


To go along with the skewers I made the Thai Pineapple Rice I first tried last summer:


I'm not sure what makes it Thai, but this is some seriously addictive rice. Even SP, who isn't a huge fan of rice, ate a few helpings. I had to use red pepper flakes instead of the jalapeno because of the salmonella scare, but it ended up working just fine.

Thai Pineapple Rice

1 1/2 cups basmati rice, cooked according to package directions
1 large onion, red or white, cut into large dice
1/2 jalapeno pepper, or 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large can pineapple chunks, cut into smaller pieces
Soy sauce and cilantro to taste

Heat a few tablespoons oil or butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and the jalapeno or red pepper flakes and cook until softened. Add the cooked rice and pineapple and stir to heat through. Add a few splashes of soy sauce and a handful of chopped cilantro, stir and then taste. Add more soy or cilantro until it tastes good to you. The rice can be served hot, but it's also great at room temperature.

11 comments:

  1. This looks great and so colorful!! :)

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  2. I love the thai pineapple rice. So easy, I must try it!

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  3. Joelen - That's what I love about summer...the colors are amazing.

    Jenn - It is so good! And easy. Definitely try it. :)

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  4. Aaaaaahhhhh you're an anally retentive kebab person :) and I do mean that in the best way :)

    Personally I like to mix in the veggies and meat on the skewers. I just love the different flavor medleys you can get :)

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  5. That rice looks great! I love pineapple - I'll have to try that!

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  6. longhair - I understand what you're saying, but I never found the mixed meat and veggies to work well because everything cooks at a different rate.

    Brooke - Let me know if you try it! :)

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  7. Slow and steady is the ticket and use an "indirect heat" grilling method. Yes, some of the points of the peppers and urnions char a little, but that's part of the fire roasted flavor. Another thing to consider is how you arrange the food on the skewer. I guess this is one of the few times I really try to pay attention to the size and approximate cooking times to the different food items. And actually, it's not all about size, but density and texture as well.

    Also, we got a skewer set from Weber that really does a great job. Please note, had my wife not picked this out we would have never had it as I'm not much for gadgets and such, especially things like this. However, it really really helps out and gives you more control for cooking them...I'm glad she got it!
    (Oh yeah, it's also nice that the skewers are stainless and not chrome :))

    http://store.weber.com/Items/GrillingTools/Detail.aspx?pid=1269

    Please, don't use their picture as a reference for food arrangement either. It is simply meant to look pretty :)

    I know this is long, so you don't have to post it if you don't want, but just wanted to send some helpful info along.

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  8. Oh, my! I came looking for Smoked Salmon Spread, but found this instead. My favoritist meal in the world is Stir Fry. You totally GRILLED STIR FRY! That looks so good I want to dive into my computer right now.
    ~The Cat's Pajamas

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  9. I like your rice, but I have to say it reminds me... Thai pineapple *fried* rice is everywhere to be found here in SoCal. Gotta seek out a good one sometime.

    And I'm laughing at LHM. He always tries to be helpful. And no, I'm not being facetious.

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  10. The Thai Pineapple Rice is so good! I made it last night to go wtih my Jerk Chicken Kabobs and Coconut Shrimp. It's a perfect Side dish!

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    Replies
    1. I was wondering what you ended up making. So glad you tried this. It's one of our favorites.

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