Side dish or entree, this rice will balance your meal with flavor
I had made some Spicy Pineapple Chicken for my sweetie (who does not share my vegetarian views) the other day when I had a few hours off, so I wanted something that would be a good side dish for him that was filling enough to be a full meal for me.
I had some left over rice so I decided to make a Thai meal out of it.
Food in Thailand is usually light and aromatic. Thai cooking is known for its balance of the "five fundamental taste senses": hot (spicy), sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. It's sometimes a delicate balancing act, but the result is generally very satisfying.
This fried rice has everything from spicy chilies to sweet pineappple, but the flavors meld wonderfully into a great dish.
You'll love this rice dish, but your carnivorous loved ones will love the way it goes with their meals as a side dish.
Thai Fried Rice
1 whole pineapple, cut up3 cups of cooked rice, preferably several days old (If all you have is freshly-cooked rice, leave it for an hour or more in the refrigerator - uncovered to dry it out)
3-4 tablespoons of vegetable or white wine
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed
1 red or green chili, thinly sliced
¼ cup of raisins
½ cup each of broccoli and snow peas
½ cup of raw unsalted whole cashews
3 spring onions finely sliced
1/3 cup of fresh coriander
Stir Fry Sauce
2 tablespoons vegetarian fish sauce or 3 tablespoons of. soy sauce
2 teaspoons of curry powder
- Mix 1 tablespoon of oil with the rice, using your fingers to separate any chunks into grains. Set aside.
- In a cup, stir the soy sauce (or faux fish sauce) together with the curry powder.
- Drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan (or wok, if you have one) over medium-high heat.
- Add the shallots, the garlic, and the chili, stir-frying for about a minute.
- Whenever the pan starts to dry, add a little stock - or wine (1/2 to 1 tablespoon at a time to keep the pan sizzling).
- Add the peas and the cashews. Stir-fry for another minute in the same way, adding more liquid if needed.
- Now add the rice, the pineapple chunks, and the raisins.
- Drizzle the fish/soy sauce mixed with curry powder over and gently stir-fry to combine over medium-high to high heat until the rice starts making popping sounds - about 3 minutes. (Avoid adding any more stock from here on, or your rice will turn out soggy...I can attest to this from personal experience) The pan should be hot and dry.
- Remove from the pan from the heat.
- If you want to be fancy, serve the rice in a hollowed-out pineapple, but save that for parties.
