If using a fresh pineapple, cut it into small pieces and then dice enough to obtain 1 cup. Save the rest for garnish or to eat as a snack.

A good video showing how to efficiently and easily cut a pineapple is on YouTube titled “How to Cut a Pineapple “ by Clean & Delicious. It has 20 M views for good reason. 😁

Rinse the chicken well to remove the baking soda, then gently pat it dry with paper towels.
Season it with salt and pepper.

Sauté the chicken in a a few teaspoons of olive oil until it is browned on all sides and cooked through.
Work in batches and don’t crowd the pan. This will help the chicken brown evenly.

Dice the onion and red bell pepper, and sauté in a few teaspoons of olive oil until softened and translucent.
Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute. Set aside.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until the mixture has reduced to about 1 and 1/2 cups. (It’s okay if it’s not exact).
Add the cornstarch, and continue cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens and becomes slightly syrupy.

Transfer everything (chicken, onion, bell pepper, sauce) back into the skillet. Add the diced pineapple. Stir and cook until everything is well coated and heated through.

If the sauce isn’t thick enough to your liking, you can add another teaspoon of cornstarch if you like. Just be sure to cook it thoroughly so that it thickens.

Notes:
🍍 You can use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts if you prefer.
🍍 I advise checking the nutritional label of the Hoisin sauce you purchase. Some have way more sugar than others! You don’t need all that extra sugar. Let the flavor of the pineapple shine through.
🍍The original recipe called for 1/2 cup brown sugar, but I reduced it to 1/3 cup. To be honest, you could probably decrease it a little further.

🍍 if you want to break up the work, you could slice up the pineapple and mix the sauce ingredients together, then refrigerate these ingredients overnight. Proceed with the recipe the next day.