This Thai Pineapple fried rice is a simple and delicious lightly spiced fried rice made with fresh pineapple cubes, aromatics, cashews and herbs. Makes for a warm comforting meal.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Thai, World

Ingredients

  • 1 cup basmati rice (- 200 grams or 1 cup long grained rice)
  • 1 cup water (- for soaking rice)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (or add as required)
  • ½ teaspoon oil
  • 4 to 4.5 cups water (- for cooking rice)
  • 1 cup chopped pineapple cubes
  • 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies (or fresh red chilies or 1 to 2 green chillies, chopped or sliced)
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped onions (or 1 medium onion, spring onions can also be used instead of onions)
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic (or 2 to 3 small to medium garlic cloves)
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped celery ((optional))
  • ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper (or add as per taste)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce ((naturally brewed) or add as required)
  • ½ tablespoon sriracha sauce (or red chilli sauce, add more as per taste)
  • ¼ cup cashews (- unsalted and raw)
  • 3 tablespoons oil (- any neutral flavored oil)
  • salt (as required)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves ((cilantro) or 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped parsley)

Method

Cooking rice

  1. Rinse rice very well till the water runs clear of starch. Soak rice in water for 20 minutes. Drain all the water using a colander or a strainer and set rice aside.
  2. In a pot, bring to a boil 4 to 4.5 cups of water, salt and oil.
  3. Add the rice to the hot water.
  4. On a low to medium heat cook the rice without the lid.
  5. When the rice becomes al dente or just cooked, remove the pot from stovetop and drain the extra water from the rice.
  6. While straining, you can also gently rinse the rice in water so that they stop cooking and don't stick to each other. You can also fluff the rice with a fork and set aside. Cover the rice and set aside till the rice cools completely.

Making pineapple fried rice

  1. When the rice is soaking, prep the other ingredients. Peel and chop the pineapple in small cubes. Also chop the other ingredients like onion, green chilies and garlic.Spring onions can also be used instead of onions.
  2. Heat oil in a wok. Add finely chopped onions.
  3. On a low to medium heat, sauté for a minute.
  4. Add chopped green chilies or red chilies, finely chopped garlic and finely chopped celery (optional). Stir and sauté for a few seconds.
  5. Then add cashews.
  6. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes till the cashews become a light golden or golden.
  7. Add the pineapple cubes.
  8. Stir and saute the pineapple cubes for 4 to 5 minutes till the moisture dries up. You can also saute the pineapple cubes till they caramelize.
  9. Add freshly crushed black pepper. Stir to combine.
  10. Add soy sauce. You can add soy sauce as per your taste preferences. Mix well.
  11. Add sriracha sauce or red chili sauce. You can add more or less as per your taste requirements.
  12. Mix the sauces evenly with the rest of the ingredients.
  13. Add the cooked rice. Season with salt.
  14. Stir to combine gently and mix the rice very well with the rest of the ingredients. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes with occasional stirrings.
  15. Lastly add chopped coriander leaves. You can also add parsley leaves or chopped scallion greens (spring onion greens) instead of coriander leaves. Stir and mix well.
  16. Serve Pineapple Fried Rice as is or pair with stir fried veggies or any of your preferred side dish.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.