This Thai-Style Pineapple Fried Rice is the closest I’m getting to Southeast Asia right now. You feel me?!
One thing I learned while traveling Southeast Asia was to skip the soy sauce when making Thai fried rice. Instead, they use a combination of oyster sauce and fish sauce; it’s ohhhhh so delicious!
Day old refrigerated rice is best for making fried rice. If you use freshly cooked rice, you’ll probably end up with a soggy and mushy finished product. Leaving the rice is the fridge overnight helps remove excess moisture and essentially, dry out the rice. So make some rice before bed, pop it in the fridge, and you’re golden for the next day.
RIGHT: Wat Pho Temple, Bangkok, Thailand.
Because this dish is cooked at a high heat, avoid using olive oil to make this. You need to use an oil with a high smoke point, like peanut or vegetable.
Feel free to switch up the veggies, depending on your preferences or what you have on hand. Just try to keep the ratios in mind because you want the pineapple to be the star of the show. Makes sense right?
Thai-Style Pineapple Fried Rice
Equipment
- 1 wok
- 1 wok spatula
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- ½ onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger
- 1-2 Thai chilies seeded and sliced (optional but use less)
- 1 tsp curry masala powder
- ½ tsp white pepper may sub black but use 1/4 tsp
- ⅓ cup celery diced
- ⅓ cup carrots diced
- ⅓ cup red pepper diced
- ⅓ cup frozen peas thawed
- 1 cup pineapple diced
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 3 cups cooked jasmine rice day-old refrigerated rice is best
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- 4 scallions white and green parts separated, sliced
- ¼ cup roasted cashews
- ½ cup purple cabbage shredded and optional
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro for garnish
- 1 lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and garlic, stir fry for 30 seconds. Add ginger, chilies, curry powder, and white pepper. Stir fry for another 30 seconds.
- Add celery, carrot, red pepper, peas, pineapple, and white parts of green onions. Stir fry for 1 minute.
- Push everything to one side of the wok and pour the eggs on the other side. Quickly scramble the eggs, 20-30 seconds.
- Add rice, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir fry for 2 minutes, adding the cashews and green parts of the onions halfway through, until the rice is coated in the sauce.
- Serve it up right in the pineapple or on a plate. Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges. I like to add some raw purple cabbage and mix it onto the rice as I eat it, because I like the crunchy texture. But you do you boo! This is just my personal preference.