ISLANDS YAKI SOFT TACOS

If you love the sweet taste of teriyaki-marinated chicken, you’ll dig the Yaki Soft Tacos at this Hawaiian-themed burger chain. Sure, Islands is famous for its burgers, but many also go for the several choices of soft tacos—and the one I’ve cloned here is the top-seller. After testing all popular brands of teriyaki sauce on the market, I found that none have the heavy ginger notes of the chain’s version, so you’ll want to make the sauce from scratch. Which is really no big deal, since it’s an easy process and you’ll end up with a teriyaki sauce/marinade that’s better than any store version, and you can use it in all sorts of recipes. When you buy the canned pineapple, go for the 20-ounce can or get two 8-ounces cans. You’ll need that much since you’ll use the pineapple chunks in both the sauce and on the tacos (and you’ll even use some of the juice from the can in your teriyaki sauce). When chopping the chunks, take the time to slice each chunk into quarters (lengthwise, with the grain) so you get thin pineapple pieces that are the exact size of the stuff they use in the restaurant. Or you can find smaller pineapple chunks in some stores (see Tidbits).

MAKES 12 TACOS (4 SERVINGS)

INGREDIENTS:

TERIYAKI SAUCE

• 1¾ cups water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup soy sauce

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

• ½ cup canned pineapple chunks (chunks sliced into quarters)
• ¼ cup juice from can of pineapple chunks
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 12 chicken tenderloins
• 12 7-inch flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 4 cups iceberg lettuce, chopped very thin or shredded
• 1½ cups canned pineapple chunks (chunks sliced into quarters)
• 1½ cups diced tomatoes (about 2 medium tomatoes)
• ½ cup chopped green onion (green part only)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make the teriyaki sauce by whisking cornstarch into the water in a medium saucepan. Add remaining ingredients, then bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes or until thicker. Let sauce cool before you use it for marinating.
2. When the sauce is cool, measure out 1 cup of sauce and set it aside. Use the remaining sauce to pour over chicken tenders in a medium bowl. Cover chicken and let it marinate for at least 6 hours. Overnight is even better.
3. When chicken has marinated, preheat a large skillet over medium/low heat. Wipe the pan with a little oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade (and toss out the marinade) and saute chicken in the pan for 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and browned on both sides. Slice each chicken filet into 3 or 4 pieces and spoon all the chicken into a medium bowl. Microwave the leftover 1 cup of teriyaki sauce in the oven for 30 to 60 seconds or until it’s hot. Pour the sauce over the sliced chicken in the bowl.
4. When you’re ready to build the tacos, preheat another skillet over medium heat. Toss a tortilla into the pan for a minute, then flip it over and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of shredded cheese across the center of the tortilla. Let the tortilla sit in the pan for about a minute or so (until the cheese starts melting), then remove the tortilla and immediately spoon the equivalent of one chicken tender into the tortilla (3 or 4 chunks of chicken). Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce from the cooked chicken bowl over the chicken in each taco.
5. Arrange about 1/2 cup shredded lettuce over the chicken in each taco. Follow that up with 1 to 2 tablespoons of pineapple chunks, 1 to 2 tablespoons diced tomato, and a couple pinches of chopped green onion. Repeat the process for remaining tacos. The restaurant serves 3 tacos with each order.

TIDBITS

• If you can find them, Del Monte offers canned pineapple that’s pre-cut into the perfect size for this recipe. And I love the name: They’re called “Tidbits.