-
Prep time
15 minutes
-
Cook time
25 minutes
-
Serves
4-6
Author Notes
Oh yah, it's like the 80's came a-calling to take its chicken salad back. My mom used to make this for us all the time when we were kids. Of course, it's entirely possible this was more of a 70's dish but, since my memories don't go back that far, I'm calling it 80's. As un-hip and un-modern as this is (mayo! canned pineapple!) there's something so deliciously addictive about it. Simple ingredients in a nice cool salad served over warm rice. In deference to my lingering suspicion of too much mayo, I cut it with sour cream. She used to make it with sweet curry powder, but if you want to up the contrast between the dressing and the pineapple, you should feel free to sub in part or all of the sweet curry powder with a spicier blend. But other than that, it's just how my mom used to make it. You may feel guilty about it, but you'll still go back for seconds.
Note: make sure the pineapple bits are very well drained - I would even pat them dry a bit with a paper towel. Leaving too much juice can result in a tasty (but unsightly) puddle at the bottom of your salad after a while. Sure, you could use fresh pineapple, but this is a retro recipe and there's something about the smushiness of the canned pineapple..... —Niknud
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
-
5 cups
cooked basmati rice
-
3-4 cups
cooked, shredded chicken (whatever's leftover from your weekend roast)
-
1/2 cup
mayo
-
1/2 cup
sour cream
-
4-5 tablespoons
sweet curry powder (if you don't want the heat) or spicy curry powder or a combination of the two
-
1
can pineapple bits, very well drained
-
salt
-
1/3 cup
sliced, toasted almonds
Directions
-
In a medium serving bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream and curry powder. Add the chicken and stir to coat thoroughly. Fold in the pineapple bits and season with salt if it needs any.
-
Serve over warm basmati rice with a generous sprinkle of the sliced almonds on top.
Full-time working wife and mother of two small boys whose obsessive need to cook delicious food is threatening to take over what little free time I have. I grew up in a family of serious cookers but didn't learn to cook myself until I got married and got out of the military and discovered the joys of micro-graters, ethiopian food, immersion blenders and watching my husband roll around on the floor after four servings of pulled pork tamales (with real lard!) complaining that he's so full he can't feel his legs. Trying to graduate from novice cooker to ranked amateur. The days of 'the biscuit incident of aught five' as my husband refers to it are long past but I still haven't tried my hand at paella so I'm a work in progress!
See what other Food52ers are saying.