Thai pineapple fried rice

There are many, many versions of fried rice depending on what country its origins are from, what protein it has, what kind of vegetables, and what is the sauce. I'm a huge fan of Chinese fried rice with potherbs, but today I'm being adventerous and making Thai pineapple fried rice with shrimp.

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

Recipe from thaifood.about.com

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Yield: 5-6 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (or 1 small can pineapple chunks, drained)

3-4 cups cooked rice, preferably several days old

1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock

2 shallots, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 red or green chili, thinly sliced or 1/4 to 3/4 tsp dried crushed chili (chili flakes)

1 egg

1/2 cup frozen peas

optional: 1 small carrot, grated (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup currants or raisins

1/2 cup roasted unsalted whole cashews

3 spring onions, finely sliced

1/3 cup fresh coriander

Stir-fry sauce:

3 tbsp soy sauce or fish sauce

2 tsp curry powder

optional: 1/2 tsp sugar

Directions

1. Mix 1 tbsp oil with the rice, using your fingers to separate any chunks into grains. Set aside.
2. In a cup, stir the soy sauce/fish sauce together with the curry powder.
3. Drizzle 1-2 tbsp oil in a wok/large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic, and chili, stir-frying until fragrant (1 minutes). Whenever the wok/pan becomes dry, add a little stock (1 tbsp at a time to keep ingredients sizzling).
4. Crack egg into wok and stir quickly to cook (like making scrambled eggs).
5. Add the carrot (if using) and peas. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes, adding more stock if needed.
6. Now add the rice, pineapple chunks, peas, currents, and cashews. Drizzle the fish/soy sauce mixed with curry powder over and gently stir-fry to combine over medium-high to high heat until the rice "dances" (makes popping sounds) about 5-8 minutes or until desired lightness is achieved. Avoid adding any more stick from here on, or your rice will turn out heavy and/or soggy. If desired, push ingredients aside and add a little more oil to the pan/wok (this will give your rice that special shine you see in restaurant fried rice).
7. Remove from heat. Do a taste-test for salt/flavor, adding a few shakes of salt or a little more soy sauce as needed. If too salty, add a squeeze or two of lime juice. Top with spring onions and coriander. 

Nutritional Analysis:
per serving: 470 calories, 16g  fat (2.5g saturated, 7g polyunsaturated, 6g monounsaturated), 64g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 20g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

The original recipe above is made for the vegetarian version of Thai pineapple fried rice; however, I added shrimp to the mix to give it more substance. 

Fried rice is always best with day-old rice since it is not as wet as freshly cooked rice. 

If you don't have any old rice on hand, spread your freshly cooked rice out on a tray. Cut lines through the rice with your rice paddle to let it cool and chill the rice, uncovered, in the refrigerator. This will dry out the rice so it is appropriate for fried rice. I used a mixture of brown rice and wild rice to make this dish somewhat healthier. 

If you choose to add shrimp like I did, first saute your aromatics, the garlic, shallots and chili flakes. After about 30 seconds to 1 minute, add your shrimp. Once they turn light pink, add the egg and proceed with the original recipe. I omitted raisins from my dish just because I'm not a huge fan of having raisin in my savory foods. 

Since my flame doesn't get very hot, I did not find it necessary to add chicken stock throughout the cooking process. 

For the sauce, I used half soy sauce and half fish sauce, mixed with the curry powder and sugar. The sugar is needed since the soy sauce and fish sauce is salty. Add a squeeze of lime for some zest if desired.

I loved the outcome of this dish! The sweetness of the pineapple wonderfully complements the strong curry flavors of the rice. Not only was it delicious, it was a beautiful looking dish with vibrant colors just popping out. Unlike the usual fried rice dishes I have, this one was full of flavor. Will definitely make this one again!