Hawaiian Haystacks

Hawaiian Haystacks was one of my favorite dinners growing up. Never heard of it? Well, let me enlighten you. It’s basically rice smothered in chicken gravy, and topped with pineapple, toasted coconut, and all sorts of fun toppings. It’s a fun dish to serve to a crowd, because the toppings are placed on the table, and everyone can add what they like to their dish.

When I was little, my mom would make the gravy out of cream of chicken soup. These days, I prefer not to use soup from a can (except for a few recipes here and there), and this chicken gravy is SO much better when made from scratch. I’ve added curry powder to the gravy, which pairs SO nicely with the pineapple and coconut. We also use brown rice instead of the white rice my mom used to serve.

I throw some frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the crockpot with some chicken broth and spices in the morning, and it’s ready to be shredded and added to the gravy by dinner time.

Hawaiian Haystacks

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 C flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tsp Madras curry powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 C sour cream
• 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast
• Enough cooked rice to feed your family (we prefer brown rice)

Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add flour, and cook for two minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly whisk in chicken broth, increase heat to medium high, and continue whisking until the mixture just begins to boil. Stir in salt, curry powder, and garlic powder. Stir in sour cream and whisk until smooth. Add shredded chicken.

To serve, place the rice on plates and top with chicken gravy. Add any or all of the following toppings:

• shredded cheddar cheese
• pineapple chunks
• toasted coconut
• craisins
• green onions
• sliced olives
• chow mein noodles
• almonds
• tomatoes
• Mandarin oranges