Polynesian Pulled Chicken —rsquo; The Flavor of Home When Home Is Three Thousand Miles Away

Marco and Sofia are here. Born May 21, 2021. Mark called at 3 AM Alaska time, sobbing. Mark never cries. The crying undid me — my brother, the Navy man, the monosyllable specialist, broken open by two babies who arrived screaming (Sofia) and watching (Marco) and the arriving cracked every defense he'd built over twenty years of military discipline.

"Grace. They're perfect." The Santos binary. Perfect. Always perfect. Marco: seven pounds, calm, observant, the baby version of Mark — quiet, watchful, processing. Sofia: six pounds eight ounces, loud, immediate, the baby version of every Santos woman who has ever lived — arriving at maximum volume, demanding attention, taking up space.

Lourdes cried for an hour. She cried while making adobo, the tears falling into the vinegar, the vinegar not caring, the broth absorbing her salt the way it absorbs all salt — naturally, without comment. She cried and cooked and the two activities were one activity, the dual expression of a joy too large for a single channel.

I held the twins over FaceTime. The screen was too small. Marco was sleeping. Sofia was screaming. They were three thousand miles away and I pressed my hand to the screen because the pressing was the closest thing to holding and the holding was what I needed, what every aunt needs when the babies come and the babies are far and the far is the only thing wrong with an otherwise perfect day.

The lumpia shipped at 6 AM. Four hundred. Overnight. Lourdes's love at the speed of FedEx. The lumpia will arrive before the milk comes in. This is the priority. This is the Santos hierarchy: food first. Everything else second.

I couldn’t ship lumpia overnight the way Lourdes could — that’s her superpower, not mine — but I could cook, and cooking was the only language available to me at 3 AM after Mark’s call. This Polynesian Pulled Chicken is what I reached for: sweet, vinegar-bright, soy-deep, the same flavor architecture as adobo, the same logic of salt and acid doing the emotional work that words can’t. It’s what I make when I need my hands to say what I can’t, when the distance is the only thing wrong with an otherwise perfect day, and the kitchen is the only room that makes the distance smaller.

Polynesian Pulled Chicken

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 6 hrs | Total Time: 6 hrs 10 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Sliced green onions and sesame seeds, for serving
• Steamed white rice, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the crushed pineapple (with its juice), soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and black pepper until the sugar is dissolved and everything is combined.
2. Load the slow cooker. Arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer in the slow cooker. Pour the sauce over the chicken, turning each piece to coat evenly.
3. Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6–7 hours, or on HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is fall-apart tender and easily pulls apart with a fork.
4. Shred the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred using two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir it back into the sauce so every strand is coated.
5. Rest and absorb. Let the shredded chicken sit in the sauce on WARM for 10–15 minutes so it absorbs the liquid fully before serving.
6. Serve. Spoon the pulled chicken over steamed white rice. Top with sliced green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 295 | Protein: 29g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 23g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 1010mg