I will say it is pretty nice that my daughter has been making a couple of dinners a week for the last few weeks. I love cooking but getting a little break here and there is pretty cool. I mean even if I didn’t write a weekly food blog and feel obligated to come up with something new for dinner. Making dinner 7 or say 6 nights a week; we try to go out to dinner or get take out at least once a week. So 6 nights is 312 dinners a year that’s a lot of meals to come up with. I will admit we have had a few unconventional meals at our house. Cereal is a thing, breakfast for dinner is a fav and an occasional hot fudge sundae for dinner has happened.
So I have made and blogged about pineapple fried rice, I have even ordered it out before. This one I am going to share is a little different and not just because of the chicken that was added. It had a little heat to it and the pineapple was great at balancing the heat with the cooling. Which is saying something we as a family I would say tolerate pineapple, we like it a little but it is not a go to for any of us.
The recipe comes together within an hour which is nice for a weeknight meal. Though I have been known to make a roaster chicken during the week on occasion, which is what we had for dinner Friday night actually. My daughter got the recipe from an Ayesha Curry cookbook The Full Plate.
The rice is best cooked the day before if possible and if you have ever made fried rice before or even a stir fry you need to have all your stuff prepped before you start cooking. You can use a store made roaster chicken or roast a couple of pieces in your oven before hand. You could even use a different protein, steak or pork would be great. Also it is a great way to use up some other veggies hanging out in your fridge. Make it your own.
pineapple chicken fried rice
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper cored, seeded, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper cored, seeded, diced
- 1 cup canned, fresh pineapple chunks cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 3 cups jasmine rice day old best
- 2 cups chicken breast cooked, shredded
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 green onion finely diced
- fresh cilantro leaves for garnish optional
Instructions
- heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell peppers, cook stirring until they start to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add the pineapple and peas cook until the peas have begun to thaw, 2-3 minutes longer. Add the garlic, cook for another minute.
- Push the veggies off to the side of the pan and add the beaten eggs to the opposite side. Stir the eggs with a rubber spatula until they are scrambled. Then transfer everything to a bowl and set aside.
- Add the last tablespoon of oil to the pan and return to medium-high heat. Add the rice, chicken, raisins, soy sauce, curry powder, sambal, salt and cook, stirring until all of the ingredients are incorporated and the rice starts to brown slightly on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Return the veggie mixture to the pan and cook stirring, until rewarmed and incorporated into the rice. about 2 minutes.
- Transfer to a large platter and garnish with sliced green onions and cilantro leaves if using. Serve hot.