Jul 13, 2010

Pineapple Fried Rice

How many of you have ordered this dish in your favorite Thai restaurant? Personally, I rarely do because I want to eat spicy food and not something that could be sweet. Not my type, you see. But nevertheless, this is a classic. And you've got to eat the classics too. And so, in order to convince myself and my family, I had to take matters in my own hands. Besides, the pineapples were on sale too and I can't resist a deal. So, I got 2 gorgeous pineapples at 88cents each (see I told you, they were a deal!). I was just too tempted to try this. Finally when we were done with dinner, this was the verdict - especially from my husband who does not like the presumed sweet rice - "Make this every time you make Thai at home instead of the plain fried rice" and also - "let's make this next time we meet up with our friends".

And for the sweet part - the rice has the subtle sweetness of the pineapple but also load of other flavors. The sweetness is only when you bite into the pineapple - but the rice itself is spicy. Not sweet. I could go on and on about the wonderful flavors in here - but you won't know unless you actually try it. And you should. Really - what could go wrong. Yeah, you could finish the whole pot of rice - that could go wrong. And nothing else. So, go out after you read this and get your pineapples too!

You'll need a nice ripe pineapple - how do you figure that out? The outside should be a nice yellow color and not green. And when you just smell the outside, you should smell the sweetness of the pineapple. That means its ready. It wants to become a part of something special. It wants to grace your dining table. It needs compliments. It needs all your love. Needy Pineapple.

Cut your needy pineapple vertically into two pieces. Take a knife and cut the center into big pieces and gently lift it off the skin. Once you get all the big pieces out, use a spoon and scrap out the sides so that you leave out a smooth skin underneath. We will use this later as the serving piece! Chop the pieces you took out from the center into small bits of deliciousness!


Now for the rice part, do this step first. You can use Thai Jasmine rice if you have some. I used just our regular basmati rice. Wash about 2 cups rice and set aside. I want to give everyone a totally unrelated tip here - if you use a non stick rice cooker, don't wash the rice in the cooker and then cook it. Always use a small bowl to wash the rice and then add it along with water in your rice cooker and cook it. This helps to protect the non stick surface of your rice cooker for a long time.

Take about 2 cups of uncooked rice.


We will also be using some coconut milk here. I always use the light variety - as you can see this has 67% less fat than regular coconut milk - I can so use that. My hips agree too.


Now add the 2 cups of washed rice to the rice cooker. Then, add 2 cups of coconut milk and 1 cup of water to the rice. Make sure you don't use all the coconut milk in the can. Save about 1/2 cup for later for the curry. And then close and switch on the rice cooker. You can use this type of rice for many many dishes. Ghee rice made with this tastes heavenly - I promise to make that and eat after I genetically change my body structure. Until then, I'll just dream about it.




Now for the curry part. We are going to make a fresh curry paste at home using simple ingredients.

In a small blender, add the following -

1 heaped tbsp of Coriander seeds
1 heaped tsp of cumin seeds
3-4 dried red chillies
3-4 kernals of black pepper
about 2 inch piece of ginger - chopped roughly
about 1 whole stick of lemongrass - chopped roughly or 1 tbsp of lemongrass paste
Garlic - 1 or 2 cloves (optional) I actually did not add this - but I'm sure it will be good if you do.


Grind it all together - you can add a few drops of water or a little oil for a richer curry paste. Use regular vegetable oil and not olive oil.


Now in a pan, add about 1 tsp oil and then add about 1 cup of chopped onions. Sprinkle some salt on top and saute for a min until the onions start turning translucent. Once they are done, remove the onions from the pan and set aside.


Now, add about 1 cup of chopped red bell pepper to the same pan - you don't need to add extra oil. The oil already in the pan will do. Again, sprinkle salt and then saute for a min or two. Then, remove and set aside.


Now, add the curry paste to the pan and cook it for a min until all the wonderful aromas start flying out and touching the tip of your nose. Thank God now for making ginger a part of our world.


Now add the coconut milk you saved earlier to the curry. And then slit one big green chilli and add salt to taste along with that. Also, add a 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder for a gorgeous color! Let this curry bubble up for a min.


Now, add the chopped pineapple pieces in here and mix well with the curry.


Now, that's some gorgeous curried pineapple here - you can just stop here and add this to bread as a topping and eat that. I'm sure it will be delicious! That will be a curried pineapple bruschetta ..how about that for some thai - italian fusion cuisine! I have to try it myself sometime!


Next, throw in the sauteed onions and red bell peppers into this.


Here's the cooked coconut rice.


Add the rice a little at a time to the curried pineapple paste and mix gently.


Add a little red chilli powder or paprika on top just to spice it up a notch.


Now, add some fried cashews and raisins to the rice. Just a tiny bit of raisins - maybe only about 6-8 pieces. You don't want to make this more sweet with too many raisins.


Finally, add the best garnish ever - some finely chopped cilantro!

One other unrelated opinion here - does it bother you when you see people or restaurants or big chefs on TV adding cilantro on top - but just the whole leaves. That annoys me to a very great extent - its like as soon as I see that, I deduct 20 points from their score in my head...you know what I mean? Come on, how long does it take to chop up some leaves...and when chopped nicely, the flavor that these leaves bring out enhances the whole dish. Just eating them as leaves does not please my palette at all. I pick them and set them aside. Some people are so lazy, they don't even take the stems off. Please. .don't do that. I saw this show on a tamil channel where this lady cooks and then while serving, just throws in a couple of leaves with the stems and somehow that is supposed to make the dish look more beautiful according to her. Really lady...you just made the dish look not so good. Chop them next time...

Enough of my rant. Sorry, I got carried away.

So, chop the fresh cilantro leaves and add them to the rice. Mix well - gently.


Serve hot on the scooped out pineapple bases. Isn't that a nice meal to serve your family? They deserve it. Do it for them.


Blogger or not, take pictures of your creation - and frame it if you want to!




A bountiful of nature's beauty. All for you to enjoy!



 Enjoy! Peace out!

31 comments:

  1. my goodness....that has come out soo good....bookmarking it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now this is mouthwatering good!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Anu,

    How on earth could you be so imaginative and at the same time, be patient enough to bring out such a result!! Am so happy for your family.. they are so gifted!Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yum-de-dum! I make Pineapple Bhel, but this is taking it one notch higher! And I love the way you've scooped out the fruit and are left with a shell to serve your rice in...I must remember to ask you how you did that, the next time we chat.

    I loved the pic of the pineapple bases dressed up with all the rice and cashew garnish...the one with cashew garnish makes it look like a man dressed in a yellow shirt/coat, the cashews making the buttons! And if thats the man, what about the lady? Maybe she's just wearing a two-piece, and is sporting a sling-bag...well, go figure! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow... what a delightful sight.. i am gonna go abroad for higher studies. i will use you blog as bible for self cooking

    ReplyDelete
  6. hi dear,
    this is a very yummy n interesting combo ...looks divine ...bookmarked...thanks for sharing

    satya
    http://superyummyrecipes.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds interesting and new to me. Love the display in pineapple

    ReplyDelete
  8. I loooooooooooooooooooove it and beautiful pics. I have bookmarked and definitely making it :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oooohhhh ooh my fav one again anu.. I love this sooooooo much and we used to get various versions of pineapple rice in Singapore. This is totally different from what I make usually. I loved this recipe very much .. sure will give it a shot. The last picture is sure a killer.. YUMMY!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. i don't order this either, because I prefer to keep my spicy food spicy and not mix in the sweetness in.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Pineapple rice if my favorite. I make them in a Indian way.. Nice step by step recipes and beautiful presentation. I will try this Thai version soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sounds yumm!!! Though I must say I am also skeptical about the sweetish rice varieties, but as u said, we must eat also the classics at least once:-))

    ReplyDelete
  13. I like pineapple fried rice too but same not very sweet....love the way u scoop out the pineapple..looks gr8...

    ReplyDelete
  14. looks really tempting..am goingto try this sometime..

    ReplyDelete
  15. hey anu , ne seeikram india va ma !!! mmmm mouth watering da.... keep up ur good joolluu work ??!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Fantastic presentation dear...loved the cute pics ...very tempting recipe.
    Do drop in at my space sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Good post with step by recipes! Tempts one to try it out.
    Good one regards the cilantro! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  18. Pineapple rice looks absolutely divine, had them long back in Thai restaurant..makes me hungry..

    ReplyDelete
  19. We love pineapple fried rice. We too ahve one posted at our space, but totaaly diff recipe dear.

    Loved all your pictures...YUmmilicious!!!

    Love
    Kairali sisters

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh my god!! Awesome flavors!! I love the color too!

    ReplyDelete
  21. lovely rice dish with a step by step demo.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I always thought pine apple with rice was not such a good combo. But after seeing your recipe and the pics, i changed my mind. I am going to try this for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Anu,

    love pineappe and rice but somehow never feel like mixing the two...i LOOOOVEEE Sangeetha`s Pineapple Kesari...and i love pineapple as it is. Its sch a gorgeous fruit as it is...fleshy and sweet with that little bit of acid...YUm!!!

    Shobha

    ReplyDelete
  24. really deliicous
    looks so color ful
    nice step by step presentation..
    good one feel to have some

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow, beautiful presentation and looks soooo delicious! I'm bookmarking :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Whats a red curry paste?I live in California too.Where can I find baby corn?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Viji - thai food uses red curry paste and this is usually available in asian or thai stores. Even some american grocers like Ralphs and Albertsons carry this. But, usually they have a fish sauce in it - so if you are vegetarian, look for a speciality thai store that might carry a vegetarian version. Or your best bet is to make it from scratch. Pretty easy to do. You can also find baby corn in teh canned food section in Ralphs or albertsons or trader joes.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I will check for babycorns in Trader joes.And can you share with me ur recipe for red curry paste.I really wanna try this dish.

    ReplyDelete
  29. looks like an amazing recipe. Will try it fr sure. just an unrelated opinion - coriander leaves shopped WITH the stem tastes heavenly! the stem is where the wonderful fragrance is! that is not laziness for your information! please don't advise people to chop em off!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. @ Anonymous - thank you for your comment. Just to clarify, I love the flavor in the stems too. But what I was trying to say here is when some people don't chop them finely but add the big stalks and leaves right just like that without cutting. its just my opinion that its not very appeasing to see big stalks of cilantro plants on top of your food. I'm a cilantro stem lover too -like you - but when chopped up nice!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by! Let me know what you think.