Grilled Coconut Sticky Chicken with Pineapple & Veggie Kabobs

I love this time of year. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have four distinct seasons, so grilling season begins around April and lasts until winter decides to visit. I suppose we could grill during the winter, but who wants to trek through the cold and the snow just to heat up the grill? Not this gal! We have a hot tub out on our deck, and I complain like crazy when we’re running for the warm water through the frigid winter weather.

The days are just starting to turn warm here and tonight we fired up the grill for the first time since last fall. It felt good. I found this recipe in a Sunset magazine over 10 years ago. I made a few tweaks, and it has become a family favorite!

Throw the chopped chicken, coconut milk, fresh ginger, cayenne pepper, & pepper flakes into a sealed container and refrigerate overnight preferably, or at least three hours.

Before preparing the rest of the dish, you will want to begin making the sticky sauce. This needs to reduce in half during the simmer process (takes about 30-45 minutes). Place gluten-free soy sauce, rice vinegar, palm sugar, and red pepper flakes into a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat.

About 15 minutes into simmering the sauce, remove the pepper flakes and return the sauce to the pan. Continue cooking until the sauce has reduced in half and slightly thickens.

You can use any of your favorite fruits and vegetables for grilling, but fresh pineapple, crimini mushrooms & zucchini are especially good with this dish.

Chop the pineapple & zucchini and place on skewers, alternating the fruit & veggies.

Remove chicken from the marinade and fold onto bamboo skewers (soak the bamboo at least 15 minutes in water before placing meat on them).

Place skewers on a heated grill and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Place sticky sauce over cooked chicken, fruit & veggies and serve with rice.

The sticky sauce is sweet, sour and spicy all in one…so delicious! Enjoy 🙂

Grilled Coconut Sticky Chicken Skewers

(chicken + marinade)

1 package of boneless chicken thighs (6-8 in package)

1 can coconut milk

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger

(sticky sauce)

3/4 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup coconut palm sugar

3 Tbsp gluten-free soy sauce

1 tsp red chili flakes

(fruit & veggie kabobs)

1 small fresh pineapple

2 medium-sized zucchini

8-10 crimini mushrooms

cooked rice (white or brown)

This recipe was also shared on vegetarian mamma.com 

I just returned from a beautiful weekend visiting my daughter and son-in-law. There were several highlights to the weekend, aside from just enjoying their sweet presence. I was fortunate enough to have my weekend land on a doctor’s visit. What an amazing miracle to see my grandson at 21 weeks gestation on the ultrasound!  The following day we shopped for the baby’s nursery, and painted the little crib in a deep grey color.

It was fun to watch them begin to prepare for the arrival of this little guy, anticipating turning from a couple into a family. In many ways it is hard to believe that my first baby is now having a baby of her own. Life moves along at a very fast pace. As I anxiously await the arrival of a new life, I am facing the passing of another. When I returned from my trip I received a phone call that my grandmother’s life is coming to an end. In my heart I’m so deeply saddened, yet I rejoice over the long life she has lived and the beautiful memories that will always stay with me. She taught me how to pluck feathers from a chicken, write backwards in cursive, and fluently speak pig-latin. She was a beautiful artist who taught me to paint and a meticulous seamstress who helped me with my wedding quilt. I hope to be that kind of grandmother to my grandchildren someday. I will always love you, Grandma; thanks for such sweet memories.

Thank you for sharing in a piece of my life, even though this blog is about gluten-free cooking. But honestly, I wouldn’t be the cook I am today without the influences of great women like my mom and my grandma.