Pineapple Thai fried rice
If you love eating Thai food, you’ll love this recipe!
Thankfully, it’s not that hard to make good Thai food at home. Have you tried? Thai food has always been one of my favorites—I love the curries and the rice dishes. And particularly delicious is a good Thai pineapple fried rice. The sweetness of the pineapple contrasts so well with the chili spiciness in the dish. This makes a great weekday dinner, and you can load it up with lots of yummy veggies including super good-for-you mushrooms. You’ll get a healthy dose of vegetable protein from the tofu, edamame and veggies, plus healthy carbs from the veggies, pineapple and rice.
Ingredients
Makes 8 cups
3 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
6 oz. extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, or 4 eggs (see note below)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup scallions, sliced diagonally
6 dried Thai chilies (bird’s eye chilies), coarsely crushed
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen shelled edamame
1 cup matchstick-cup carrots
2 cups snow peas, sliced diagonally
2 cups cooked brown or white jasmine rice, ideally made the day before
Chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges
Preparation
In a small blender blend 3/4 cup of the pineapple chunks until smooth. In a medium bowl stir together the pineapple puree, lime juice, maple syrup, rice vinegar and ginger. Gently stir in tofu.
In an extra-large nonstick skillet cook and stir the remaining 2 1/4 cups pineapple chunks and the bell pepper over medium-high for 4 minutes or until the bell pepper is tender. Stir in scallions, Thai chilies and garlic, cook for 1 minute, stirring. Transfer mixture to the bowl with tofu.
In the same skillet cook the mushrooms, edamame and carrots over medium-high for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add snow peas and cook for 4 minutes or until crisp-tender, adding water 1 Tbsp at a time, as needed to prevent sticking. Stir in rice. Gently stir in pineapple mixture and heat through, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
Note:
If you would like to use eggs instead of tofu, leave out the tofu from the recipe. Lightly beat 4 eggs with a dash of salt. Cook them first in the pan before the pineapple and bell pepper step. Pour the eggs in the pan and scramble them, stirring frequently, until the eggs are lightly set, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer the eggs to the pineapple puree bowl. Wipe out the pan if necessary with a paper towel (be careful, it’s hot!). Then proceed to cook the pineapple and bell pepper.
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