Pineapple Rice

This Pineapple Rice is the simplest fruity savory rice dish you can make under 15 mins if you have the precooked rice ready. It is made with pantry staples and is easily customizable to your taste. This one-pan rice dish is plant-based and gluten-free but you can transform it to a meat-based (egg, chicken or shrimp) following my recipe expert tips section.

About Pineapple Rice

This world popular Thai dish goes by the name Khao Pad Sapparod where khao means rice, pad means stir fry and sapparod translates to pineapple. It is one of the numerous kinds of Fried rice from Thai Cuisine and is very popular on the restaurant menus. It’s a kids’ favorite and is a showstopper at the parties and celebration meals.

You will find so many versions served across the world but slightly deviated to make it suitable to the local taste buds. Authentic Thai Pineapple Fried Rice is made with jasmine rice cooked in plain water. But we found some restaurants use broth or even coconut milk to cook the rice. This boosts the flavor profile and it’s hard to mimic the same at home.

This recipe is inspired from the Thai pineapple rice but made vegetarian and simplified further to cut down the prep & cook time. This makes a meal in itself but if you wish to extend your menu, here is a list of sides to choose from – roast veggies, Vegetable spring rolls, Tofu Tikka, spicy Chicken lollipops or crispy Popcorn Chicken.

Ingredients

• Rice – Traditionally Thai pineapple rice is made with aged/premium quality Jasmine rice but I use aged basmati rice because this is the one I always stock up. However you may use any kind of non-sticky rice because we want the grains to be separated and not mushy. If you are new to cooking rice for fried rice, you may check this post on how to cook basmati rice perfectly.
• Pineapple – Fresh fully ripe sweet pineapple is best to make this dish. But canned pineapples in syrup are okay in a pinch but they can be too sweet for this kind of a savory dish unless you like it sweet. If you want, squeeze out some of the juices to make it less sweet.
• Sauce – Soya sauce and fish sauce are used but since this is a vegetarian version we use only soya sauce. For a gluten-free version use Tamari. If you want you may use 1 teaspoon fish sauce.
• Ground spices – Curry powder and ground white pepper are the 2 key ingredients. I use this homemade curry powder but you can use any generic curry powder that has cumin, red chili and coriander as the main ingredients.
• Fats – Any neutral oil, butter or ghee can be used.
• Vegetables – I use plenty of green onions and peppers for flavor. But the authentic version uses small onions and ripe tomatoes. If you want you may use the onions right at the beginning. Tomatoes are added at the end and they are left uncooked.
• Nuts – Roasted crunchy cashews add a nutty taste to the dish and they are not to be missed. Sweet raisins are optional but they add a pop of color and sweetness to your dish. You may omit them if your pineapples are sweet.
• Protein – For a protein boost, you can add tofu, paneer, shrimp, chicken or eggs to your pineapple rice. Read my expert tips section below to know how to use them.

Photo Guide

Step by step Photo Instructions

1. Heat oil in a hot wok/pan. Fry cashews until light golden and add the raisins. Add garlic and fry till it turns aromatic and cashews turn golden.

2. Slide the cashews and raisins to a side. You can remove to a bowl if you want. Add spring onions, bell peppers and serrano peppers/ green chili.

3. Saute bell peppers until slightly tender yet crunchy. Add soya sauce, salt and curry powder.

4. Give a quick stir and add pineapples. Saute for 2 to 3 mins.

5. Add cooked rice, little more oil if you want and then finely chopped coriander leaves/cilantro (optional).

Toss everything well and fry for 2 minutes. Taste test and add more salt if required. Serve pineapple fried rice hot.

Expert Tips

• Curry powder comes in varying levels of spiciness and flavor. Please adjust the amount to suit your taste. Pineapple rice is a savory rice dish but it should not be too spicy or hot so use curry powder and white pepper with caution.
• Simply season the shrimp or ½ inch chunks of chicken breast with a drizzle of fish sauce or salt and black pepper. Fry them in 1 tablespoon oil until cooked through. Remove and garnish at the end. To use eggs, scramble the eggs in a tablespoon oil and cook until soft cooked and slightly moist. Remove to stir in at the last stage.

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