A Plate at My Table - Hospitality and Entertaining: Summer Grilling - Chicken Kabobs with Pineapple Ginger Marinade

It's summer and we're really putting our grill to good use. Last night we grilled chicken that had been marinated with a combination of pineapple, ginger, garlic and few other ingredients. To go with the chicken I stir fried fresh veggies and used the same marinade ingredients to make a sauce that I served over kelp noodles.

Have you ever eaten kelp noodles?

This was a first for us and I was a little leery. I'm not fond of seafood and I wasn't sure if it would taste fishy. But the package promised it was a neutral flavor and since kelp is very high in calcium I decided to give it a try.

I purchased the kelp noodles from Whole Foods. Be forewarned. If you've never used kelp noodles before it looks a little bizarre when you open the package. Like clear plastic strings. The noodles can be eaten right out of the package in salad or you can cook them in liquid. They're still clear as you can see in the picture of the finished dish.

I used a mini chopper to make the marinade.

Bright, crisp veggies and clear noodles are so pretty in the pan!

Grilled Pineapple Ginger Chicken Kabobs With Veggies and Kelp Noodles

This recipe will make four generous servings.

8 wooden skewers soaked in water for about 15 minutes.

2 pounds of boneless chicken breast (About 4 large breasts)

Cut the chicken in to chunks roughly 1 1/2 inch square pieces

Place the chicken in a gallon sized zip type plastic food storage bag.

Marinade:

2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice

2 Tablespoon Ume Plum Vinegar OR Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)

4 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to your liking)

Whisk all the ingredients together and reserve 1 cup to use later. Pour the remaining marinade into the bag. Seal the bag and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour but not more than 4 hours. Turn the bag occasionally while the chicken marinates.

Grilling:
When you're ready to grill equally divide the chicken and thread it on to the skewers. Discard the excess marinade.

Grill over hot coals for 5 minutes. Flip and grill another 5 minutes. Check for doneness. Make sure the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Cook the veggies and noodles while the chicken grills.

Vegetables:

4 cups of broccoli florets

1 medium red or white onion cut in chunks

1 medium red or green pepper cut in chunks

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 - 3 Tablespoons of oil for stir frying

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the veggies in the following order.

Broccoli - cook for 2 minutes

Onions - cook for 1 minute

Peppers - cook for 2 minute

The veggies should be crisp tender. Don't over cook.

Continue on to the sauce and noodles

Noodles and Sauce:

To the reserved marinade add:

2 cups of veggie or chicken stock

1/2 cup of pineapple juice

1 finely grated carrot
Packaged Kelp Noodles

Once the veggie have been stir fried pour the sauce over the veggies and add the package of kelp noodles. The noodles only need 5 minutes to soften up.

Adjust the flavorings and add more soy sauce if needed.

I hope you'll give Kelp Noodles a try! I did and I like it for a change of pace.

So what's on your grill this summer?