Slow Cooker Luau Chicken

Halloween happened. James and I stayed home and handed out candy to kids in the building — Capitol Hill trick-or-treating is an apartment-hallway activity in this building, and we got about fifty kids, which is a lot for a Sunday. I had costumes as a concept but not as a reality. James wore a Microsoft hoodie. I wore a sweater. The kids were, I think, unbothered by our low-effort presentation. They were there for the candy. We had Korean chocolates from H Mart mixed in with the Hershey's, and one very determined nine-year-old asked what the chocolates were. I said, "Korean." He said, "Can I have more?" I said, "Yes." He took three. I loved him.

Thanksgiving is three weeks away. Kevin is bringing Lisa. I have started thinking about what to cook. I am not hosting — Karen is — but I am the co-cook in a way that has been true since 2017, and this year Karen has asked me to do "most of it," because her hands cannot do most of it. I will do most of it. I will do the turkey (herb butter under the skin, my technique); the stuffing (cornbread with sausage, my recipe); the gravy (browned butter and turkey drippings, James's help); and the Korean side dishes (japchae, kimchi, pajeon). Karen will do the pies (apple and pecan) with David helping. Everyone is bringing something. Ming has asked if she can FedEx me a box of Taiwanese sticky rice from San Jose. I said yes. The menu is becoming international in a way that reflects this family.

I wrote Jisoo about Thanksgiving. She wrote back asking me to explain it. I explained — the pilgrims, the turkey, the family, the gratitude. She said, "We have something like it. It is called Chuseok, in the autumn. We eat songpyeon — small rice cakes filled with sweet things. We visit the graves of our ancestors. We thank them." I asked if she had celebrated Chuseok last month. She said yes, with Jihoon and Eunji and her husband. She had sent songpyeon to relatives. She had visited her mother's grave. She had, she said, brought an extra piece of songpyeon to leave there — one that she thought of as mine. I read that letter three times. The small piece of rice cake on my grandmother's grave, left by Jisoo, representing me. I cried quietly at my desk at work on Monday when I read it. Priya asked if I was okay. I said, "Yes. I just received a piece of news from home." She said, "Good news?" I said, "Very good news."

Work: light week. I coded for two hours on Wednesday and it was the best feeling I have had at work in a month. I miss this. I have been thinking again about leaving. Not now. But the fantasy is getting sharper. I don't know what the door looks like yet. I am watching for the door.

The recipe this week is a simple rice bowl. Leftover Thanksgiving planning rice, topped with kimchi, a fried egg, and sesame oil. My Monday lunch, eaten at my desk. Reader, I confess, I sometimes still eat at my desk, and the meal is not glamorous, but it is honest. You do not always cook for the blog. Sometimes you cook for the Tuesday, and the Tuesday is enough.

The week before Thanksgiving is always its own particular kind of noise — the lists, the logistics, the quiet emotion of a holiday that keeps getting bigger and more layered each year. I needed something I could set and forget while I planned menus and reread Jisoo’s letter for the fourth time. This slow cooker luau chicken was exactly that: something sweet and savory and deeply unfussy, ladled over rice and eaten without ceremony. It is the meal you make for the Tuesday, and the Tuesday is enough.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 6 hours | Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium preferred)
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
Cooked white rice, for serving
Sliced green onions and sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Layer the chicken. Place chicken thighs in a single layer in the bottom of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker.
Mix the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the crushed pineapple with juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and black pepper until combined.
Pour and cook. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 2.5–3 hours, until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken with tongs and shred using two forks on a cutting board. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to coat with the sauce.
Thicken the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and cold water to form a slurry. Stir the slurry into the slow cooker, replace the lid, and cook on HIGH for an additional 15–20 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
Serve. Spoon the luau chicken over steamed white rice. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow Cooker Luau Chicken — The Rice Bowl That Got Me Through Monday