I never put fresh fruit in my savory recipes (desserts are a separate thing, of course), but this pairing of pineapple’s sweetness and ham’s saltiness is just delicious.
Secrets for the Best Fried Rice
This recipe is relatively new to me, but I used my years of experience cooking up fried rice with whatever’s in the fridge to make sure this Pineapple Fried Rice turned out perfectly. A key element to achieving the perfect fried rice is to have all the primary ingredients ready before you turn the stove on. Fried rice cooks faster than you think it will, and it’s easiest to have everything at your fingertips so you don’t throw off cooking times. It’s also important to be mindful of the size of each ingredient. This is important to any stir-fry, which comes together quickly and in the same wok. In this case, I’m talking about the pineapple and ham. The size of the ham chunks should be adjusted to the ham’s saltiness. If you use hard-cured ham, it’s super flavorful, but salty. Mince the ham so the saltiness is evenly distributed, and the ham flavor can shine through (rather than hitting a big salty chunk every so often). I used breakfast ham that I found at Costco. I love it because it’s not too salty––hence the larger chunks you see in the pictures!
As for the pineapple, it’s best to cut it into ½-inch cubes. If the pineapple chunks are too big, some bites will be too sweet and overpowering. But if the pineapple chunks are too small, there will be too much pineapple juice, making the rice soggy and overly sweet.
The Perfect Levels of Salty and Sweet
Use a just-ripened pineapple for this fried rice for a crunchier texture and the right balance of sweetness. Here is a trick I learned from my father: a pineapple is ready to eat if its sharp spikes come out easily by pulling on them with your fingers. An overly ripe pineapple is yellow instead of green, and might be too sweet for this savory fried rice. When in doubt (or when fresh pineapple is scarce), use canned pineapple, but rinse away any juice/syrup beforehand. Pineapple Fried Rice is a signature Thai dish, so fish sauce is a must to bring together all the flavors, adding that salty edge to balance out the pineapple, as well as umami flavor. Whatever you do, though, don’t ever put your nose to a bottle of fish sauce—just trust that it will do wonders when it’s been added to your cooking!
Pineapple Fried Rice: Recipe Instructions
First, prepare the shrimp, onion, carrot, ham/Chinese sausage, rice, peas, pineapple, and scallions.
Feel free to use canned pineapple, but, if like me, you want to use fresh pineapple, remember to trim away the pineapple core. It’s too tough for fried rice. If using canned pineapple, rinse away any syrup and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel. If you’d like to serve your pineapple fried rice in a hollowed out pineapple as shown in our pictures (it IS a very festive presentation, I must say), here’s how to do it:
Remember to discard any chunks that were part of the core. After we removed the chunks shown in the photograph above, we cut them into smaller 1/2 inch pieces. Ok, back to the recipe! Beat 2 eggs with ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon Shaoxing wine. Heat your wok over medium heat until lightly smoking. Add 1 tablespoon oil, and scramble the eggs for 1 minute—until just cooked. Turn off the heat, break the egg into small pieces, transfer to a dish, and set aside.
Heat another 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Cook the shrimp until they turn pink, about 1 minute.
Remove from the wok and set aside.
Heat the last 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Cook the onion until translucent.
Add the diced carrots and ham, and cook until the carrots are no longer crunchy.
Add the rice and 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine. The steam from the wine will loosen the rice chunks!
Stir-fry everything together well, and add in the peas, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, ½ teaspoon ground white pepper, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, the scrambled egg, and the cooked shrimp. Stir-fry everything together for a few minutes.
Finally, add the scallions…
And the pineapple.
Mix everything again for a minute or two. To crisp and warm the rice through, you can use your wok spatula to spread the rice in a single layer around the surface area of the wok, making use of all the heat and letting any excess liquid evaporate. Salt to taste, and serve immediately!
