Tropical Chicken Skewers, with Pineapple and Mango

A few years ago I developed a mild allergic reaction to fresh pineapple, with intense itching at the very back of my tongue being the symptom. I love pineapple, and luckily I am still okay with it if it has been cooked.

I bought a beautiful fresh pineapple for my daughters to eat, but made sure to set some aside for cooking. While grabbing the chicken breasts out of the freezer, I saw the container of extra mango marinade that I had frozen when I made Mango - Coconut Halibut Skewers. Mango and pineapple...a perfect pair of tropical fruits.

I cut the chicken breasts into chunks and marinated them, and then added some red pepper along with pinepple chunks to the skewers, before popping them onto the grill.

My husband made some peanut sauce, I cooked some basmati rice and dinner was delicious! The sweetness of the pineapple comes out when it is cooked, and the acidity is less obvious. 

To make the mango marinade, see the post Mango - Coconut Halibut Skewers. This recipe made enough for two meals, so if you have extra, feel free to freeze it for another time.

Cut 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 1" chunks, and combine them with the mango marinade.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Cut half a peeled and cored pineapple into 1" chunks.

Cut a red pepper into pieces that are approximately the same size.

Skewer the chicken, pineapple and red pepper pieces onto bamboo skewers.

Grill the skewers, turning often, on a lightly oiled hot grill.

When the chicken is almost done, use any remaining marinade to baste the skewers, turning and basting a few times until the chicken is fully cooked.

Make sure that you cook the marinade fully before removing the skewers from the heat.




Serve the skewers on a bed of basmati rice, and drizzle the rice and skewers with peanut sauce, passing extra sauce at the table.

• Cooking meat on skewers is an excellent way to increase the flavour, as more surface area is available to absorb the marinade and the smokiness of the grill. Be careful as it is also easy to overcook the meat, as the pieces are small.
• Another benefit of using skewers is that if you are short on meat, the addition of fruit and/or vegetables to the skewers extends it. This also adds, colour, flavour and texture to your meal.
• Keep in mind the cooking times of the vegetables or fruit you add to the skewers. Some cook really quickly, like cherry tomatoes, pineapple, peach or red pepper so they are best suited to really thin strips of meat, or fish, which cook quickly.
• Meat can be skewered and then frozen in the marinade. This is a good way to be prepared; make extra next time you are making these. Defrost them before grilling.
• The pineapple and mango will work nicely with fish such as halibut, scallops or prawns.
• A quick peanut sauce: cook 1 teaspoon each minced garlic and ginger in a bit of olive oil until fragrant. Add 1/2 cup peanut butter (I like chunky), water or chicken stock to thin it down and then add brown sugar, soy sauce and lime juice to taste. Hot sauce can be added if you like your sauce spicy. Remember that as it cools, it will thicken, so always make it a bit thinner than you want.