Pineapple Rice
Pineapple fried rice (Khao op sapparot in Thai) is one of my favourite Thai dishes, and very easy to make. The bright yellow hue and pineapple bowl gives a cheerful tropical and sunny vibe to the dish.
See Also:
As a short cut, you can buy sliced pineapple from the fruits stall or use canned pineapples; but if you use a whole fresh pineapple, you will be rewarded with a beautiful pineapple bowl to serve this dish in, and bonus points for not needing to wash the bowl afterwards! While this dish needs some preparation time, the cooking is relatively quick (under 15 minutes). It makes for both a great one-dish meal or the perfect side-dish for any Thai-themed meal. Come Chinese New Year, this is a perfect dish to serve due to the auspicious symbolism of pineapple and its golden hue.
Step-by-Step Photos
Combine tumeric powder, pineapple juice, fish sauce and seasoning powder in a stain-proof bowl. Mix well and set aside. Note: You can omit the tumeric if you don’t the dish to be bright yellow after cooking.
Dice the following to bite-sized pieces: prawns (shells & veins removed), boneless chicken and pineapple. Marinade chicken with sesame oil, light soy sauce and white pepper.
Heat oil and butter in wok, stir fry shallots and garlic until the shallots start to soften. Add shrimp paste, stir fry for about 1 minute until you smell the pungent aroma.
Add chicken and stir fry until they just turn opaque. Add prawns, stir fry until semi-cooked.
Add rice and pour the sauce over. Stir fry until the rice grains are dry and evenly-coated in the sauce. Add pineapple, cashew nuts and raisins; stir fry for another minute or two. Season to taste.
Ladle pineapple rice to serving bowl and garnish with meat floss, chilli and coriander.
Thai Pineapple Rice Recipe
To serve this dish in a cutout “pineapple bowl”, half a pineapple lengthwise and hollow out the flesh without cutting through the skin. Set aside the flesh of half pineapple to cook this dish. More cooking tips at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 30 grams butter
- 3 shallots peeled and minced
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1 heaped tsp shrimp paste
- 100 grams boneless chicken breast cut to bite-sized pieces; marinate with 1/2 tsp sesame oil and 1/4 tsp light soy sauce
- 6 prawns peeled diced
- 350 grams cooked long grain rice refrigerated overnight
- 100 grams diced pineapple flesh may use fresh or canned pineapples
- 2 tbsp roasted cashew nuts
- 2 tbsp dried raisins
- pork or chicken floss
- coriander for garnishing
Sauce (A)
(Mix well in a small, stain-proof bowl)
- 1 tsp tumeric powder
- 1 tbsp pineapple juice
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp ikan bilis or chicken seasoning powder
Directions:
- Heat oil and butter in wok, stir fry shallot and garlic for about 30 seconds or until the shallots start to soften.
- Add shrimp paste, stir fry for about 1 minute until you smell the pungent aroma.
- Add chicken and stir fry until they just turn opaque. Add prawns, stir fry until semi-cooked.
- Add rice and pour the sauce (A) over. Stir fry until the rice grains are dry and evenly-coated in the sauce.
- Add pineapple, cashew nuts, raisins and stir fry for another minute or two. Ladle pineapple rice to serving bowl and garnish with meat floss and coriander.
Noob Cook Tips:
- For best results when cooking fried rice, use cooked rice that has been refrigerated overnight. If you do not like the idea of overnight rice , you can also use freshly cooked rice which has been refrigerated for at least 2 hours in the fridge. Refrigerating the rice keeps the grains dry so that they won’t stick to each other during stir frying. Alternatively, ‘tabao’ (takeaway) extra rice the day before, for making fried rice the next day.
- Tumeric is permanently staining on clothes, certain materials (such as plastic bowls) and surfaces. Use non-staining crockery and cookware. I use an old wok and spatula specifically for cooking anything with tumeric in it.