Hawaiian Chicken Salad is a combination of boiled chicken white meat, pineapple chunks, celery, boiled eggs coated with mayonnaise. The word Hawaiian is added to this chicken salad, as in Hawaii, they reinvented a basic restaurant recipe from the mainland and added pineapple to it, to promote the use of pineapple abundantly growing in Hawaii. This was on the part of a group who wanted to develop Hawaiian regional cuisine to reflect the community and its locally grown foods.

Kangan is a very family-oriented person, and keeps a close connect with her brothers and their families, as also with her husband’s siblings and their families. She and her husband are now enjoying a retired life with indulging in their love for travel within India and around the world. She is fond of reading and keeps her memory sharp with playing cards a couple of times in the week.

‘I absolutely love Chicken Salad. It is so true that one of life’s simple but greatest pleasures is good food and sharing it with those you love. This Chicken Salad recipe is a simple, easy and my family’s favourite. This recipe was given to me by my mother and this is my go-to salad for parties as everyone enjoys it. You can’t go wrong with your mother’s recipe’.

Kangan has adapted and tweaked the original chicken salad recipe she got from her mother to the one she makes regularly today.

She uses chopped cabbage in place of salad leaves in this recipe as Iceberg lettuce is difficult to find in the summer heat in Gurgaon and also the lettuce tends to wilt if mixed with the mayonnaise for a long time.

To solve this problem, she changed the recipe by adding finely chopped cabbage which holds its crispness and the salad can be make-ahead recipe for a family gathering or a party.

The little bit of jalapeño in this salad adds just a little bit of spicy flavours.  It really isn’t that spicy, but feel free to leave it out if you want. You could also add halved grapes instead of pineapple to this for a bit of sweetness and texture.

One could also add a bit of greek yogurt or cream. Adds a touch of freshness to counterbalance the heaviness of the mayonnaise.

Hawaiian Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad with Pineapple, Celery & Mayonnaise

Boiling the chicken

Ingredients ~

2 boneless chicken breast pieces
1 small onion
1 bay leaf
5 whole black peppercorns
1 clove garlic
¼ tsp salt

Method ~

1. Wash the chicken breasts.
2. Peel and chop the onion into quarters.
3. Place the chicken, chopped onion, spices and garlic in a heavy bottom pan or pressure cooker.
4. Cover with water and shut the lid.

~ If using the pressure cooker, let one whistle blow, simmer for 2-3 minutes and switch off the flame.

~ If using a pan, bring to a rolling boil and then lower the flame and cook covered till the chicken breast is cooked through. The time may vary according to the chicken breast size.

5. Let the chicken cool in the broth itself. Increases the taste.
6. Once cool, remove the chicken pieces and let cool on a plate. The broth can be used as a soup.

Assembling the Salad

Ingredients ~

100 gms cabbage
4 inch celery stem
2 pineapple slices
4 tbsp pineapple juice
500gms  boiled chicken, chopped
200 gms mayonnaise
100 gms  cream
1/2 tsp mustard paste
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
salt to taste

Method ~

1. Place the chopped boiled chicken in a bowl.
2. Sprinkle 4 tbsp pineapple juice over the chicken and stir. Let it rest to absorb the flavour.
3. In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cream, mustard, salt and cracked pepper.
4. Add chopped celery, chopped cabbage, pineapple and the chicken pieces to the mayonnaise mixture.
5. Mix well and taste to adjust the seasoning.

Tips ~

~ Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves and decorate with celery leaves and pineapple bits.

~ Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, so that the flavours can melt together.

~ Chicken Salad can be served on its own or in a sandwich.