Pineapple Fried Rice

You know what mystery reader, I like you.  I know we only just met a few minutes ago, but I feel like you really get me.  And because I like you, I'm going to give you an awesome recipe - my pineapple fried rice.  Well, I say mine, but I did liberate it from the internet.  This one is restaurant-caliber, no joke.  Serve it to a boss, and you will be promoted.  Serve it on a date, and you may get engaged.  Serve it to your children, and they will move out and buy you a car.

Okay, back story.  I spent 10 years in upstate New York - the birthplace of Thai food.  And they had a noodle shop there called 'Asian Noodle House'.  Fairly nondescript, I know, but they had the best fried rice and noodle dishes, and exposed me to a number of ones I had never heard of.  This spawned my love for Pad Kee Mao, Pad See Ew, and pineapple fried rice, all of which I had never tried before.  Since then, I have learned to make all three, but today we focus on just the one - sorry.  If you want the others, message me and I will make and post them.

The first time I made this dish, I actually hollowed out a pineapple into a boat, used the pineapple in the dish, and served the fried rice in the pineapple.  This went over very well with my audience, and if you have the time and inclination, I highly recommend it.  This week, however, I just used pre-cut pineapple for expedience, which ended up not even saving me that much of the total prep time.  You'll see why in a second.  With that in mind, I will say this:

WARNING!  THIS IS A LABOR OF LOVE DISH!

BE PREPARED TO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME PREPARING,

NOT ENOUGH TIME EATING

I will say this: this recipe is 100% poached from online.  I acquired it here, where there are actually a number of respectable Thai recipes.  But it didn't have the fun pictures or commentary, so naturally you'll use my version, right?  The recipe contains curry powder, which I think lends an interesting touch of spice to the dish.  Clearly there's some spillover between Indian and Thai ingredients.

The finished product, although not served in a pineapple shell like I have in the past.  I will update next time I make this.

Pineapple Fried Rice

From About.com, by Darlene Schmidt

• 1 cup pineapple tidbits (fresh is better, but canned works too - I used Del Monte Fruit Naturals)
• 4 cups cooked rice, preferably at least 1 day old (seriously - don't use fresh rice, it will turn to paste in the pan)
• 3 tbsp oil for stir-frying
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red or green chili (de-seeded if milder rice is desired)
• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 egg, beaten (omit if vegan)
• 1/4 cup currants (or raisins)
• 3 tbsp. chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp. fish sauce (or substitute 3+ 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce if vegetarian)
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
• Optional: 8-12 fresh shrimp/prawns (I used chicken this time - about 1 breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces)

Start by preparing the rice - THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP.  Add a little oil to the rice (up to 1 Tbsp.) and work through with your fingers. You want to separate the grains of rice, so that they don't stick together. Set aside.  Why do this?  Well, if you've ever made fried rice without tossing the grains with oil, you know first hand how easily the rice burns to the pan, and how it explodes everywhere as you try to break up the clumps.  This solves both problems.

Definitely toss the day-old rice with oil, to break up clumps and avoid burning in the pan

Ahh!!!  Rice fingers!  Sorry, on with the show.

Chop your vegetables, protein (if using), and ready easy to reach prep bowls with all other ingredients.  Mix together the chicken or vegetable stock, fish sauce (or soy sauce), curry powder, and sugar. Set aside.

Chopped up aromatics

A healthy quantity of protein

See why this is a labor of love?  This is the setup for about 5 minutes of cooking time

Swirl 2 tbsp. oil around a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and chili, stir-frying for one minute, or until fragrant. If using shrimp / chicken, add it now as well.

Stir-frying the aromatics...

...and the chicken

Push aside the shallots, garlic, and chili to make room for the egg (if using). Add the beaten egg to the wok/pan, and stir fry quickly to cook (like making scrambled eggs). 

This photo was hard to get.  The elusive 'cooking, but not yet ruined' scrambled egg photo is tough to capture for a single photographer chef

Stir sauce mixture well, then add to wok/pan.  Add the cashews and stir-fry for 30 seconds.

Now add the prepared rice to the wok/pan. Stir-fry until all the rice has mixed with the sauce and is a uniform color. Break up any lumps with your utensil or a fork.  Do NOT add any more water/broth or other liquids to the rice at this point, or it will end up mushy. You can push ingredients aside and add a little more oil to the bottom of the pan if rice is sticking. Continually lift/scoop up rice from the bottom of the pan, tossing rather than stirring it.  Think about it like an egg foam, and try to 'fold' the ingredients together rather than scooping and mushing things.

Add in the broken up rice and fold to combine

Add the frozen peas, currents (or raisins), and pineapple. Stir-fry to mix in.

Continue stir frying until everything is integrated (1-2 more minutes). Cooking tip: You should be able to hear some rice "popping" or crackling in the pan. Finally, do a taste test. If not salty enough, add 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp. more fish sauce (or salt if vegetarian). If not spicy enough, add more chopped fresh chili. If too salty for your taste, add a squeeze of lime or lemon juice.

Toss in your extras - golden raisins, pineapple, peas

To serve, sprinkle with spring onion and cilantro. Serve on a platter, or, as they do in Thailand, in a pineapple.  Thai chili sauce can be served on the side for those who like it extra spicy.

That's it!  I hope you enjoy, and that it pleases you to no end.  Of course, few of you will want to chop and prep a bunch of things for 45 minutes before you can even start cooking, but if you can stand it, it's worth the time investment.