Pininyahang Manok Recipe (Pineapple Chicken)

Pininyahang Manok literally translates to pineapple chicken. This Recipe calls for chicken slices to be marinated in pineapple juice then stewed with pineapple chunks. Aside from pineapples, secondary ingredients such as carrots, bell pepper, and milk make-up the dish.

There are some variations of this dish.  One of my favorites is Pininyahang Manok sa Gata, which uses coconut milk instead of evaporated or fresh milk. It is richer and it tastes great too.

I used fresh milk in this recipe because it is the component of the pineapple chicken that I grew-up eating. It never ceases to give me that nostalgic feeling.

Health Benefits

This dish is both healthy and delicious. It has a good amount of protein and vitamins. We can even make it healthier by using healthier types of oil for sautéing.  Olive oil is a good example. Sunflower oil is also great. It has low saturated fats and it can help reduce cholesterol.

We all know that chicken is rich in protein, but how about pineapple? Here are some benefits of pineapple that you should know.

Alternative Dishes

There are also other dishes that makes use of pineapple that you should consider trying.

Fried chicken should be tasty and juicy as far as I am concerned. The outside should also have a nice crispy texture while the meat should be as tender as possible. This is what my pineapple fried chicken recipe is all about.

I also enjoy eating Filipino adobo. I like both pork and chicken versions. One recipe that I use a lot is pork adobo with pineapple juice. the result is to die for. It also makes use of boiled eggs. How exciting! Here is the recipe for it.

How to Cook 

Start by marinating the chicken slices in pineapple juice. Since I am using canned pineapple chunks for this recipe, I marinated it in the juice that comes in the can. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes. This helps the chicken absorb the flavors from the juice and it can also help tenderize the chicken meat. I suggest marinating longer for best results.

Next is to saute garlic and onion. You can do this by sautéing the onion first followed by the garlic, of you can do the opposite. It does not matter. I personally saute the garlic first only if I want my dish to have that roasted garlic flavor, which can be derived from browned garlic.

Start to cook the marinated chicken until the sides turn light brown. Pour pineapple juice, add pineapple chunks, and let boil. You can also add milk in this step as indicated in the recipe. However, you can also opt to add a cup or so of water first and boil the chicken until it tenderizes completely. Add the milk afterwards.

Add the veggies. Start with the ones that take more time to tenderize. It is the carrot in our case. Cook for around 5 minutes before adding the capsicum or bell peppers.

Season you dish with fish sauce and ground black pepper.

This is perfect to pair with warm white rice. Enjoy!

Try this Pininyahang Manok recipe. Enjoy!

Watch How to Cook Pininyahang Manok

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