Sweet Chili Chicken Pineapple (Print Version)

Tender chicken and pineapple combine with veggies and sweet chili sauce for a lively, tropical fried rice.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
02 - 1 tablespoon soy sauce
03 - 1 teaspoon cornstarch
04 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

→ Rice

05 - 3 cups cooked jasmine rice, preferably day-old

→ Vegetables & Fruit

06 - 1 cup fresh pineapple, diced
07 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
08 - 1/2 cup frozen peas
09 - 3 green onions, sliced
10 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
11 - 1 small carrot, diced

→ Sauce

12 - 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
13 - 2 tablespoons soy sauce
14 - 1 tablespoon fish sauce, optional
15 - 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

→ Cooking

16 - 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
17 - 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

→ Garnish

18 - 2 tablespoons roasted cashews or peanuts, optional
19 - Fresh cilantro, chopped
20 - Lime wedges

# How-To Steps:

01 - In a medium bowl, combine diced chicken with soy sauce, cornstarch, and black pepper. Toss to coat evenly and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
02 - Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add marinated chicken and stir-fry until cooked through, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to a clean plate.
03 - Add remaining oil to the pan. Introduce garlic, carrot, and red bell pepper. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes until vegetables achieve tender-crisp texture.
04 - Push vegetables to the side of the pan. Pour beaten eggs into the empty space and allow to set for 30 seconds. Scramble and incorporate eggs with the vegetables.
05 - Add cold cooked rice to the pan, breaking apart any clumps with your spatula. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until rice is heated through.
06 - Return cooked chicken to the pan along with diced pineapple, frozen peas, and sliced green onions. Stir all ingredients together.
07 - Whisk together sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Pour sauce over rice mixture and toss thoroughly, ensuring even coating and consistent heating throughout.
08 - Remove from heat. Transfer to serving platter and top with roasted cashews or peanuts, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • It comes together in under 35 minutes, which means you can have this on the table faster than delivery would arrive.
  • The sweet chili sauce keeps things interesting without requiring you to balance multiple complicated flavors.
  • Day-old rice works beautifully here, so you're actually using up leftovers instead of starting from scratch.
02 -
  • If your rice is warm or freshly cooked, it will steam and clump no matter how hard you stir, so genuinely use day-old rice from the fridge.
  • The sweet chili sauce is already sweet, so resist the urge to add extra sugar—let the pineapple be the sweetness and the sauce be the binding agent.
03 -
  • If you want to serve this in a hollowed-out pineapple half, cut the pineapple in half lengthwise, scoop out the insides, and use one half as your serving bowl—it's impressive and adds an extra layer of flavor from the pineapple itself.
  • For a vegetarian version, skip the chicken and fish sauce entirely, then add an extra block of crispy fried tofu and bump up the soy sauce slightly to keep the savory depth.
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