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Hawaiian Haystacks II

A layered casserole of rice, chicken, vegetables, pineapple, cherries, coconut, noodles, almonds, and cheese in a cream of chicken gravy.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Hawaiian Haystacks II

Ingredients

Directions

Make the gravy

  1. Combine cream of chicken soup and one cup of water in a large pot to form thick gravy. Season with salt and pepper.

  2. Cook the chicken by broiling, baking, steaming, or use leftovers, and cube into bite‑sized pieces.

  3. Mix the cooked chicken cubes with the soup mixture in the pot.

  4. If there is not enough gravy to cover the chicken pieces, add another can of cream of chicken soup and more water.

  5. Simmer the mixture while preparing the other ingredients and cooking the white rice.

Cook the rice

  1. Cook the white rice according to package instructions or boil long‑grain rice for twenty minutes.

Assemble and serve

  1. Arrange a serving platter or casserole dish. Layer cooked rice on the bottom.

  2. Spread the chicken and gravy mixture over the rice.

  3. Layer celery, peas, carrots, green onions, maraschino cherries, pineapple chunks, and coconut on top.

  4. Sprinkle Chinese noodles, slivered almonds, and grated cheddar cheese over the top.

  5. Reheat the assembled dish in a microwave or oven until hot, then serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1137Calories
54 gProtein
48 gFat
130 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 16 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Cherry1 cup (138g)87
Pineapple1 cup chunks (165g)82
Peas1/2 cup (72g)62
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Soupnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Peas + carrottop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,994 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  5. Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken
Provides the main protein and bulk of the dish.
Cream of chicken soup
Forms the thick savory gravy that moistens the chicken and rice.
White rice
Forms the starchy base that soaks up the gravy.
Cheddar cheese
Adds richness and a salty, savory flavor on top.
Slivered almonds
Add crunch that contrasts with the soft ingredients.

The step that matters

Thickening the gravy. The soup and water must form a gravy thick enough to coat the chicken; if it is too thin it will run into the rice and make the dish soggy, so add more soup as the step says.

Swap the pineapple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, cream, celery, peas, carrot, onion, cheddar cheese):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Limefits better
  4. Pineapplethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, cream, celery, peas, carrot, onion, cheddar cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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