Friday, 15 February 2013

Pineapple Fried Rice


Pineapple Fried Rice came to mind when I thought about what other dishes I could come up with for this month's theme on Little Thumbs Up. I have always wanted to try the Pineapple Fried Rice at the Thai restaurants, you know the one they serve in a pineapple boat. Somehow, till today I never got a chance to do that.


And I thought, why not cook a Pineapple Fried Rice using my grandma's fried rice recipe. My grandma uses a spice paste made of fresh chillies, onions, garlic, dried prawns and belacan. Pretty much like the spice paste for Pineapple Kerabu except that the kerabu spice paste does not contain garlic. See how versatile this spice paste is? It is also used for cooking Mee Siam, something to be attempted in the near future.


Fried rice is best cooked using overnight rice as the rice grains are firm and dry. So the day before, I cooked some rice. I was a bit disappointed as the rice was a bit on the soggy side because I put a bit too much water. I remember my auntie telling me that the amount of water needs to be adjusted depending on whether the rice is "new" rice or "old" rice. When you have just opened a packet of rice, that is "new" rice. I usually like Basmathi rice but Aeon ran out of the small packets.



It didn't really matter as the fried rice turned out alright but there was something missing. Yikes! I realised that I had forgotten to add garlic to the spice paste. Drat! Double drat! But seriously, it wasn't that bad. The fried rice was still good as the belacan and dried prawns made the fried rice very tasty and the aroma was fabulous. And the sweet and sour pineapple made the fried rice even tastier.

If only I had been a little bit more industrious and peeled my own pineapple, I would have been able to fashion a pineapple boat to serve the fried rice. Oh well, I don't think it is that easy to carve out the pineapple flesh. I guess I saved myself the stress as I am quite sure I would have murdered the poor pineapple and there would not be a pineapple boat in sight!




Pineapple Fried Rice
Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :
- 600g overnight cooked rice
- 150g chicken fillet, cut into small cubes
- 200g prawns
- 350g pineapple cut into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons light soya sauce
- oil for frying

Spice paste :
- 3 red chillies (more if you like)
- 1 big onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons dried prawns, soaked and drained
- 15g belacan

Method :

For spice paste :
1. Blend all ingredients and set aside.

For fried rice :
1. Heat oil in wok and fry prawns until cooked.
2. Remove the prawns and set aside.
3. In the same oil, saute the blended spice paste until aromatic.
4. Add chicken fillet and continue frying until chicken is cooked.
5. Add rice and stir until rice is well mixed with the spice paste.
6. Add soya sauce and fish sauce and stir to mix well. Taste and adjust if necessary.
6. Add the cooked prawns and pineapples and stir to mix with the rice.
7. Garnish with sliced red chillies and coriander if you like.




 

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY.

48 comments:

  1. I love Pineapple in rice... Lovely recipe Phong

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  2. Yum yum....I take onr...without the pineapple lol.

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    1. In that case, you can pass me the pineapple :)

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  3. this recipe is new to me. loaded with lots of nutrients.looks delicious,

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    1. It is delicious, Swasthi. The pineapples made the fried rice extra special.

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  4. Phong Hong your recipe reminds me of the good old days when we all were young childhood days when our mum used to cook this dish minus the pineapple.and we really enjoy eating it.It would be nice to add pineapple. My previous trip home Mak Ee rang me to ask how to cook this fried rice.She ingin to eat but can't remember how to cook memories of the good old days .Yah Phong Hong you should cook all these recipes of the good old days.And make me glu poh pasir and lau nyior .Happy Valentine Day!!

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    1. EE, I will be featuring more of Mah-Mah's recipes soon :) Brings back my own childhood memories too.

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  5. Hi Phong Hong
    When I look at your pineapple fried rice, immediately it makes me mouth watering already.....so it proven that this fried rice simply look very very the delicious.....

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    1. Mel, you can try this too and can put less chilies.

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  6. oh wow, this looks so appetising! I wouldn't do the pineapple boat either... that would be so hard. I think this looks wonderful without the pineapple boat.

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    1. Thanks, Mich! I would have ended up with bits and pieces of the pineapple everywhere hah! hah!

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  7. PH, your recipe sounds rite up my alley! Must make this very soon - the dried shrimp n belacan combo sounds delicious.

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    1. Esther, when I was frying the spice paste, the smell was really good. I bet my neighbours got a whiff of it too hee..hee...

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  8. A little bit extra compared to what I usually do for my fried rice - bet it tasted really good!

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    1. Oh yes, the pineapple made it extra special!

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  9. I like pineapple fried rice, cooked this a couple of months ago. Actually getting the flesh out isnt too difficult hehe.... just use a knife and scrape it out :P

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    1. In that case, I should attempt it the next time :)

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  10. Hahaha! You're so cute! Gosh, u're killing me with your pineapple recipes. Yummy!

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    1. Shirley, you must try the fried rice. My grandma's recipes are really yummy :)

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  11. Hi Phong Hong,
    Pineapple fried rice is my daughter's favourite!
    Your spice paste is similar to mine, I use dried chillies instead!
    Yum, yum! Pineapple boats are only for decoration, the deliciousness of the fried rice is the most important! I could have second helpings with or without the pineapple boat! You are funny, murder the pineapple...hahaha!

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    1. Joyce, I'm not surprised that it is your daughter's favorite. I love it a lot too, and this fried rice will definitely be repeated!

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  12. Phong Hong don't forget this fried rice with eng chai when Mah-Mah just dish it out piping hot and how we ham tam it all .Mak Ee is dying to eat this she told me when she thinks of childhood days she thinks of this and lau nyior.Yes do more of Mah-Mah's old dishes.every now and then I will cook her dishes.or else will forget how to cook then got to ask you.Nex week I will try your yummy fried rice.

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    1. EE, next time I will try with kangkung. Will sure feature more of Mah-Mah's recipe. Must share the good food so that other people can appreciate it too :)

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  13. When using on the same day rice for the fried rice,cook rice using lesser water ( which was the Chef's advice.} It will not be soggy. Soggy rice don't make good fried rice. I hope this helps u.

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    1. Thanks for the tip, Red Sister! Next time I know what to do if I want to fry the rice on the same day.

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  14. Hi Phong Hong! Does this taste like the Thai version? Looks yummy with the prawns...

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    1. Alvin, I haven't tried the Thai version. If I remember correctly, the Thai version uses only fish sauce. And I am sure it is good too. Must try the next time I go to a Thai restaurant.

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  15. Pineapple is such great addition to savoury dishes!

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  16. I like Thai fried rice. Yours look good especially with added spice and pineapple. Like it!

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  17. Hi Phong Hong,

    I love pineapple fried rice too and love your super-versatile spice paste. Love it for the fact that I can make a big batch and use to cook lots of different food :D

    I do agree that serving the fried rice in pineapple boat is really challenging. I would imagine it will be very difficult to cut the pineapple without damaging the outside... I remember Yen (baby sumo) did something like that... must ask how she did it.

    Zoe

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    1. Hi Zoe, yah it is a good idea to make a big batch and freeze it is small portions. Yen said it is easy, just scrape the flesh but I'll probably skip it knowing how clumsy I am :)

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  18. Hi Phong Hong, your are murdering me with your this inviting fried rice. Especially the big prawns, so irresistible. The weight scale really want to pau char liow lor. LOL
    Any fried rice also I cannot resist, it's my all time favorite.

    Best regards.

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    1. Amelia, I also cannot resist fried rice. If I see it on the menu, I must order it. I especially love spicy fried rice, yum! yum! By the way, starting diet today :)

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  19. Hi Phong Hong,
    I was thinking of cooking pineapple fried rice for little thumbs up too. So glad that you linked your wonderful Pineapple fried rice with Little Thumbs Up.

    Oh! Yours looks so appetitzing, with the big prawn!
    I am going to follow PH cook this too :)
    mui

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    1. mui mui, I am waiting to see your pineapple fried rice :)

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  20. sedap! not only little thumbs up, big thumbs up also! LOL! i always enjoy eating pineapple fried rice..initially i wanted to cook pineapple rice too and i think your version is even better! i probably wouldnt have done the blending part of that but sounds really good! thumbs up, yay!!

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    1. Thank you, thank you! I wallop quite a lot after I cooked it :)

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  21. Tengok pun air liur sudah keluar, must be super good!

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  22. Hi Phong Hong, sorry can't do much blog hopping for the past week cos' PC down with virus. Will visit you soon once everything is in order. Nice fried rice, my nephew's favourite.

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    1. No worries, Kimmy. I am having trouble catching up as well. So much work to do :)

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  23. YUMMY! This looks so good & colorful . A sunny dish that I LOVE ! ;)

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    1. Thanks, Kit! Yah, it does look like a cheerful dish :)

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