Pineapple Fried Rice

Although most are familiar with Pad Thai (a savory rice noodle dish, lightly fried with scrambled eggs, vegetables and sprinkled with ground peanuts), pineapple fried rice ranks up there as one of the signature dishes of Thailand. Piling the rice high in a hollowed out pineapple shell brings a festive atmosphere to the simplest meal. Fried rice is also a wonderful way to use leftover steamed rice. But, please, don’t use canned pineapple………..it’s just not the same! To learn how to carve the perfect pineapple boat to serve the rice in, click here!

Serves 4
2 1/2 cups cooked Jasmine or long grain rice (cooled & fluffed with a fork)
1-2 tablespoons oil
1 cup fresh shrimp (or as many as you like)
100g chopped fresh pineapple
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 cloves of garlic, cut finely
2 spring onions, chopped finely
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (or as needed)

Put the oil in a wok or large frying pan and fry the garlic with the shrimp over medium high heat. Then add spring onion and 1 cup of the cooked rice. Mix well. Add the remaining rice and stir well. Add fish sauce and pineapple and mix gently until all ingredients have been fried together. When ready to serve, fill the pineapple shell with the rice and garnish with coriander leaves.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: I usually end up adding more fish sauce (about 1 tablespoon more) as I find it adds the right kind of saltiness to offset the sweetness of the pineapple.