OKAY! I guess I'll officially kick this off with a little creation I made last night using August's mandatory ingredients: pancetta, kale, and pineapple.
I'd initially thought about trying to make a spin on a Hawaiian pizza (pancetta and pineapple seemed to lend itself to the idea), but then it occurred to me that pineapple would work in a teriyaki dish. I wasn't sure the same could be said for the pancetta, since it's an Italian cured meat, but I was willing to find out.
I started off with a little olive oil and a little sesame oil heated in my pot. Then I added the diced pancetta and basically fried it up to render the fat. Like bacon, the pancetta doesn't need additional oil in the pan to cook, but I wanted to make sure I had enough oil for later, and I thought the sesame oil might impart a little extra flavor to the meat. Once it was all crisped up, I scooped the pancetta out of the pot with a slotted spoon (to reserve to oil in the pan) and set it on a dish lined with paper towels to soak up the excess grease. You don't have to use diced pancetta, it was just all I could find when I was at the store. I usually get the sliced kind and chop it up, and it takes a lot less time to cook (the diced didn't take long at all). I do think the diced added more texture that stood up to the teriyaki dish, however, so I would choose to use it again.
In the same pot with the hot oil, and still over high heat, I added in my chopped vegetables. That included a red bell pepper, a yellow bell pepper, an onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Once they began to soften, I decided to toss in a handful or so of matchstick carrots (not pictured in my group of ingredients), along with about 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce. Your cook time depends on if you like your veggies to still be a little crunchy. Once they're cooked to your preference, remove them from the pot into a separate bowl.
Still over high heat, and still in the same pot, I added a little more sesame oil. Then I added two cubed chicken breasts that had been marinating in teriyaki sauce and minced garlic for about 5 hours. You don't have to marinate it that long, but I wanted the chicken to really take on the flavor. I dumped the whole container into the pot and let the chicken brown up, using a bit of chicken broth (also not pictured in the group of ingredients) to deglaze the bottom of the pot when it starts to get dark. When the chicken was cooked through, I added half a can of crushed pineapple and about 4 tablespoons of pineapple juice to the pot and let that cook down to incorporate into the sauce. I used crushed pineapple because I'm not always a fan of huge chunks of fruit in my savory foods, but when I make this again, I think the pineapple chunks could stand up to the rest of the dish. The tart sweetness of the pineapple really accentuated the teriyaki flavor.
After adding the pineapple, I added half a bag of kale. It filled the pot to the top, but like other greens, it wilts and cooks down a lot. Don't be afraid to add more! While sauteeing the kale, I added more teriyaki sauce to really make sure the kale soaked some of it up and got that flavor into it. You can also add a little more chicken broth, if the sauce in the pot begins to reduce too much.
Once the kale cooked down, I added the other vegetables back into the pot and let everything come together. I reduced the heat to medium and let it simmer uncovered while I prepared the rice and broccoli. Admittedly, I took the lazy way out and both were microwavable. If you cook a pot of rice, start it when you start cooking the pancetta so that it will be done by the time the teriyaki is finished. Also, I live on frozen steamer bags of vegetables.
Serve the chicken teriyaki over rice, with a side of broccoli or your choice of other vegetable. Top with some toasted sesame seeds and some of the crispy pancetta, and voila! Dinner is served!
I didn't use any recipe while making this, and eyeballed a lot of ingredients, so this isn't exact. (Just an FYI!) Also, I did not add any extra salt. You may choose to, but between the sauce and the pancetta, I found it seasoned enough.
Chicken Teriyaki Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (trimmed and cut into 1 inch chunks) 1 pack diced pancetta 1 medium onion, roughly chopped 5 cloves of garlic, minced 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, roughly chopped 1/2 cup matchstick carrots 1 pack of mushrooms, washed and quartered 1/2 bag of kale (or more, to your tastes) 1/2 small can of crushed pineapple, plus juice 1 bottle La Choy Teriyaki Sauce/Marinade (I used about half the bottle) toasted sesame seeds chicken broth or water black pepper (optional) rice
Prep: Wash chicken and vegetables. Cut chicken into 1" chunks, or bite-sized pieces. Do a rough chop on your onion and peppers. Mince your garlic. Two cloves will go to the marinating chicken. The other three will cook with your vegetables. Wash and quarter the mushrooms. If you need to wash your kale or cut your carrots, do so.
Marinate the chicken chunks in garlic, black pepper, and enough teriyaki sauce to just cover the chicken. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Fry up your pancetta in a hot pot, with a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of sesame oil. You can use a skillet, but I used a sauce pot because I knew I'd be adding in a lot of kale later. Once it's cooked, remove the pancetta from the pot and let it drain on a paper towel. Reserve the oil in the pot.
Cook your onion, peppers, garlic, mushrooms, and carrots in the hot oil, until tender. Add another 3-4 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce to the cooking vegetables. When they're done to your preference, remove them from the pot.
Add a teaspoon of sesame oil to the hot pot, then add the chicken and brown. Use chicken broth or water to deglaze the pot and thicken the sauce. Once the chicken is cooked through, add in at least half a can of pineapple plus 4 tablespoons of pineapple juice. Cook it down until it is incorporated into the sauce.
Add at least half a bag of chopped kale and sautee down, adding another 1-2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce and a splash of chicken broth or water.
Once the kale is cooked down, add the other vegetables back into the pot and let simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes.
Serve over rice and top with toasted sesame seeds and the crispy pancetta.