Another heirloom family recipe! It’s more of an Asian-influenced, or maybe Hawaiian-style curried chicken salad, shared by my Aunt Joann. She lived in Berkeley and was probably exposed to more Asian/Pacific recipes at a time when my mom’s circle of influence was primarily mayonnaise-based.

I recently made this on a trip to my Uncle Mike’s place and proudly told him, “This is Aunt Joann’s recipe,” thinking he would be pleased to try something his sister made. He blinked and retorted, “But she can’t cook!”

Nevertheless, this is pretty tasty by my standards. It came out a bit juicy, so I’m going to recommend draining the pineapple as much as possible to cut down on the liquid. The first list makes about a gallon’s worth, which is good if you have a large family or a potluck. The halved amount is better if you have fewer people to eat it before it goes bad.

6 c. chicken, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 c. celery, diced
2 c. pineapple chunks (crushed is also good; drain thoroughly)
1 can water chestnuts
1 c. slivered almonds
2 c. mayo
1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Halved amount:
3 c. chicken (or whatever you can scrounge off a leftover roast chicken), cut into small pieces
3/4 c. celery
1 c. pineapple chunks (crushed is also good; drain thoroughly)
1 can water chestnuts (not sure why this isn’t halved)
1/2 c. slivered almonds
1 c. mayo
3/4 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tbsp lemon juice

My mom wrote this out on the same kind of paper that I used to do my homework in first grade in the early 1980s, all yellowed and fragile now. There are some doodles added, like my mom wrote it down while on the phone with Aunt Joann.