Thai style pineapple fried rice 泰式菠蘿炒飯

When I make fried rice, I find the best results come from using rice that has been cooked the day before and stored overnight, covered, in the fridge.  Leftover rice tends to stick together, which makes it difficult to separate the grains when frying.  Try adding a little oil or water to the rice to crumble or separate the grains before frying.  Then slowly fry the rice over low heat until it is heated through or separated, then turn up the heat to briskly fry the rice when you add the other ingredients.

I still remember the first time I went to a Thai restaurant.  My girl friend was raving about this place and really wanted me to try it.  When we got there, I insisted that she ordered everything she recommended.  You see, I’ve never been able to eat spicy foods; I just have a sensitive palate to hot and spicy ingredients, the spiciness always makes me too uncomfortable to enjoy the food.  I didn’t tell my friend this detail, and when the table full of food arrived, I only had the side order of fried rice!  Needless to say, she felt terrible while I was inspired by their cuisines to create dishes of my own.

I really like the idea of presenting dishes inside natural mediums, like in a pineapple shell, a coconut shell, or the like.  Not only is it appealing to the eye, but it adds to the flavor while keeping the food warmer for a longer period.  This Thai style pineapple fried rice recipe turned out wonderfully.  The fried almonds complemented the rice really well.  So many steps go into preparing a good fried rice dish, especially with this Thai pineapple fried rice recipe, but the result always pays off, and leftovers are always welcome the next day.

Grocery list

150g baking almond slivers
4 tbsp sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 cup water

6 shelled and cooked shrimps
1 egg white
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 pineapple
6 stalks of Chinese broccoli/kale (gai lan, 芥蘭)
3 cups cooked jasmine rice (preferably cooked the day before and refrigerated overnight)
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp tomato sauce
4 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp white pepper
1 egg
3 thin slices ham or luncheon meat, finely diced
Some pork floss, for garnish

材料

杏仁片 150 克
糖 4 湯匙
鹽
水 1/2 杯

 蝦仁 6 隻
蛋白 1隻
鹽
麻油 (適量)

 菠蘿 1 個
芥蘭 (適量)
白飯 3 碗
鹽
番茄汁 3 湯匙
番茄醬 4 湯匙
胡椒粉 1 茶匙
蛋 1 隻
火腿片 3 片
肉鬆  (適量)

Blanch the almonds in a small saucepan of enough boiling water to cover.  Add 4 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt and cook for about 2 minutes or until liquid is slightly thickened.  Drain dry and leave to cool.

Rinse the shrimps and combine with the egg white, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 tsp sesame oil.  Let marinade for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1/3 cup vegetable oil in a small frying pan over medium-low heat.  Deep-fry the almonds until golden brown, stirring occasionally.  Scoop the almonds onto a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon.  Leave to cool.  (Helpful tip:  To get crispy almonds, make sure that the cooked almonds are completely cooled before deep-frying.)

Using the same hot oil, scald the shrimps briefly on both sides.  Remove from the heat, transfer onto a plate using a slotted spoon and set aside.

Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise, being sure to also cut through the pineapple top.  If desired, make the cut more towards one side to give you a larger half to fill with rice later.

Carve the pineapple meat around the edges of the skin.  Make vertical and horizontal cuts into the meat, being careful not to puncture the pineapple skin.  Using a large spoon, scoop out the pineapple meat leaving you with a hollow pineapple half to fill with rice.  Cut about 1/4 cup of pineapple into small dices.  Set aside.

Wash and thinly dice the Chinese broccoli stems.  Blanch in a small saucepan containing enough boiling water to cover.  Drain dry and set aside.

In a wok or a non-stick frying pan, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat and fry the rice until separated.  Add 2 tsp salt, the tomato sauce, ketchup, and pepper.  Mix and fry well.

Add the shrimps, Chinese broccoli, ham, and pineapple, and stir well.  Make a well in the fried rice and add the egg, breaking the yolk.  Stir fry well until egg is cooked.

Dish the fried rice into the pineapple skin and scatter pork floss and almonds on top.  Serve immediately.

杏仁燙一會, 加入糖和鹽煮至濃稠, 瀝乾侍涼, 再以小火炸至金黃色, 放涼.

蝦仁洗淨, 加入蛋白, 鹽, 和 1/2 茶匙麻油, 醃 30 分鐘後過油; 用油煎蝦仁.

菠蘿切丁, 保留菠蘿皮.

芥蘭汆燙一會, 瀝乾.

 燒熱 1湯匙油, 加入白飯炒鬆, 放入鹽, 番茄汁, 番茄醬, 和胡椒粉翻炒均勻, 加入蝦仁, 蛋, 芥蘭, 火腿, 和菠蘿拌勻.

 裝盤或菠蘿皮後撒上肉鬆和杏仁即可.

Related posts:

1. Chicken pineapple sliders
2. Hainanese chicken rice 海南雞飯
3. Cantonese style beef brisket (柱侯蘿蔔炆牛腩)
4. Garlic fried chicken wings
5. Dan Dan Noodles 担担面