Thai Pineapple Fried Rice is our current 30 minute dinner obsession ~ one night we have it plain, the next night with grilled shrimp or rotisserie chicken, and again with a runny egg…can we just eat this for the rest of our lives??
pineapple fried rice is an easy weeknight dinner packed with layers of bright flavor
Nutty toasted cashews, golden raisins, warm spices, fresh pineapple, and colorful veggies all come together in a dish that is sure to brighten up a tired meal plan. It’s nutritious and comforting; perfect for keeping those new-year-new-you goals, and having some fun in the kitchen at the same time.
what you’ll need to whip up this Thai inspired pineapple fried rice
I get it, the list is longer than usual, but good food doesn’t always come in 5 ingredient packages, and a lot of these things are pantry sauces and spices you should definitely already have.
- leftover rice ~ jasmine rice is ideal for fried rice, but use what you’ve got. Using day-old rice that has had a chance to dry out a little bit results in a better textured fried rice, but you can also use freshly made in a pinch.
- cashews ~ we’ll toast them for extra flavor.
- pineapple ~ fresh is best, it has that bright acidic punch, but canned will do in a pinch.
- eggs ~ one of my favorite ingredients in fried rice.
- yellow onion
- red bell pepper
- carrots ~ I used a frozen mix of carrots and peas for convenience.
- peas
- fresh ginger and garlic
- curry powder and turmeric give beautiful golden color and subtle background warmth and complexity to this dish.
- vegetable oil ~ canola or peanut is good.
- soy sauce
- fish sauce or oyster sauce
- salt
- golden raisins ~ use whatever raisins you have, these add a little hint of sweetness that is really lovely.
- fresh basil ~ you could also use cilantro.
Want more protein? chicken and/or shrimp is a classic addition to this dish and rounds out the meal nicely.
how to keep your cool making this fast track dinner
Even though this dish is fast to make, it has a fair number of ingredients and I know first hand how quickly things can get chaotic and messy in the kitchen, so here’s some tips for keeping things easy and breezy.
- Prep your ingredients ahead – its an obvious one, but take just a few minutes to get out all your ingredients and measure things out ahead of time. You don’t need perfect little “mise en place” bowls or anything, whatever you have handy will work. I just throw it all in the dishwasher in the end for easy clean up.
- Read through the recipe from beginning to end before starting. Yes, the whole recipe! It just takes a minute, but I always find when I’m cooking from a recipe that it helps SO MUCH to just read it through before starting. You’ll have a sense of the overall structure and timing of the steps, which will help keep things streamlined as you go.
- Clean up as you go — there aren’t a lot of breaks in this recipe, once your ingredients hit the pan, you’re basically just layering things in every couple minutes until the dish is finished. Use the breaks that ARE there (like after you scramble the eggs) to clean up anything you can and get set to finish the dish.
more Thai inspired flavors
- Spicy Thai Spaghetti Salad
- Thai Chicken Salad
- Thai Coconut Soup (tom kha)
- Thai Chicken Satay Bowls with Peanut Sauce
- How to Make Coconut Rice
- Steak Pad Thai Salad
Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
Thai Pineapple Fried Rice is our current 30 minute dinner obsession ~ one night we have it plain, the next night grilled shrimp or rotisserie chicken, and again with a runny egg…can we just eat this for the rest of our lives??
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 6 cups cooked jasmine rice, cooled (preferably day-old)
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 4 eggs
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 Tbsp ginger, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp yellow curry powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thinly
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 3/4 cup carrot, diced (frozen or fresh)
- 3/4 cup peas (frozen or fresh)
- 2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp Thai fish sauce (vegetarians use more soy sauce)
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced
- fresh basil or cilantro for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In pan over medium heat, lightly toast the cashews until they start to turn golden. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, scramble the eggs in a little oil. Remove and set aside.
- To a large wok or skillet, add the oil, curry powder, turmeric, ginger, garlic, onion, and salt. Sautee for about 3 minutes over medium heat until fragrant and beginning to soften.
- Add the red pepper, carrots, peas, and cashews and sauté for another 4 minutes or so.
- Add the pineapple, and cook for just about a minute until heated through.
- Add the soy sauce and fish sauce along with the cooked rice, and gently fold everything together until well combined.
- Finally, fold in the scrambled eggs, golden raisins, and scallions.
- Continue to stir fry briefly to get everything piping hot.
- Serve topped with shredded basil or chopped cilantro.
Notes
This meal comes together super fast, so a little prep is important. Measure, slice and chop all your ingredients before you start, you’ll thank me later.
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Nutrition
Calories: 499 kcal · Carbohydrates: 72 g · Protein: 15 g · Fat: 18 g · Saturated Fat: 3 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 5 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 7 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 109 mg · Sodium: 826 mg · Potassium: 564 mg · Fiber: 5 g · Sugar: 14 g · Vitamin A: 3624 IU · Vitamin C: 62 mg · Calcium: 74 mg · Iron: 3 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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It was a big hit at our pot luck! Everyone wanted the recipe!
Yay, glad it was such a hit!
I will definitely try the recipe for a upcoming birthday. Can I make it a day ahead without adding the eggs, cashews and pineapples? Then add the rest of ingredients on the day of the event (next day)?
Should work fine.
Sue,
We just had this for supper. Yum! Yum! Yum! We added some red pepper flakes for a little kick. This will be a recipe we will come back to that’s certain!
Loved this recipe! I had leftover pineapple after making another batch of your wonderful Pineapple Cough Syrup. I did substitute shallots for the onion with great results. Did I miss when to add the cashews?
Thanks Suzanne, you can add the cashews in step 4, I just added.
I had all the ingredients too! Came right home and made this wonderful dish (with a quick Thai cucumber salad to accompany). I thought is was delicious. And the pineapple is absolutely inspired! My husband says he could eat it every day. Thanks for the excellent dinner!
Oddly, we have all the ingredients and this reads delicious. Thanks for an inspiring midweek supper to savor.
That’s a delicious coincidence, hope you love it 🙂