Pineapple Fried Rice

I love fried rice! I could eat mountains of it. My favorite fried rice is actually the standard stuff you get in any westernized Chinese restaurant in Melbourne with the peas, tiny shrimp and little pieces of Chinese sausage. Yum!!! But Thai style fried rice is much more a meal on its own. The sweetness of the pineapple permeates through the rice, providing a depth of flavor along with the shrimp paste. And tacky though it may be, it just looks mouth watering seeing it piled into a pineapple bowl!

Ingredients

• 2 cups jasmine rice, cooked and then kept in refrigerator overnight
• 1 pineapple
• 3 long chillis
• 5 spring onions
• 1 medium bunch coriander
• 2/3 cup cashew nuts, crushed
• 1 tbsp dark soy
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 250gm prawn meat 
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1egg

Method

Cut the pineapple in half lengthways.

Cut out the flesh as best as possible and chop into small chunks. Scoop out any remaining flesh and discard.

You should be left with 2 pineapple bowls and a bunch of pineapple chunks

Finely chop the chillis, garlic, coriander and spring onions, slicing a little bit as well for garnish.

Chop the prawns into large pieces.

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat.

Add the chillis and garlic and stir fry until fragrant.

Add the prawns and par cook

Add the rice and stir through. 

Make a well in the centre of the rice and crack the egg into it and quickly stir through the rice.

Whisk the shrimp paste, soy and fish sauce together briefly.

Add the pineapple chunks, cashews soy, fish sauce and shrimp paste to the rice and mix through.

Taste for seasoning and add more soy if necessary.

Remove from the heat and fold through spring onions and coriander.

Serve in the pineapple bowl garnish with more spring onions and chilli.