Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
Fried rice with pineapple, cashews and a curry-scented edge, served in the hollowed shell if you are feeling theatrical. Fifteen minutes and a great use for yesterday's rice.
Photograph credit: Khao Pad (Rosa's Fried Rice) with Chicken - Rosa's Thai 2025-07-22 by Andy Li · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
What to Put on the Table With Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
- A cold lager or an off-dry Riesling
- Serve alongside a green curry or on its own
- Finish with coconut ice cream
Making Thai Pineapple Fried Rice, Step by Step
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Break up the cold rice with wet hands until every grain is separate.
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Toast the cashews in a dry wok for 3 minutes until golden, then set aside.
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Heat 1 tablespoon of oil, pour in the beaten eggs, let them set for 15 seconds, then scramble roughly and remove.
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Add the remaining oil and stir-fry the onion for 2 minutes, then the garlic and red pepper for 90 seconds.
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Add the curry powder and turmeric and fry for 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
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Add the rice and stir-fry over the highest heat for 3 minutes, pressing and tossing, until every grain is hot and separate.
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Pour the soy sauce, fish sauce (or extra soy sauce) and sugar around the edge of the wok and toss for 60 seconds so the seasoning coats evenly.
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Add the peas, raisins, egg and cashews and toss 60 seconds more.
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Fold in the pineapple off the heat so it stays fresh and firm, then finish with spring onions, coriander and lime.
Related guides: Choosing rice · Ingredient substitutions.
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A Few Notes
Fresh pineapple, added last. Tinned pineapple is too sweet and too soft for this.
Cook in two batches if your wok is small — crowding steams the rice instead of frying it.
A pinch of white pepper at the end lifts the whole dish.
If You're Missing Something
- Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
- Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
Storing and Reheating
Refrigerate 2 days. Reheat in a hot wok. Cool cooked rice quickly and never leave it at room temperature.
Thai Pineapple Fried Rice Nutrition
Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: a cooked weight is worked out with raw figures, so those lines run high. How the figures are worked out.
Vegetarian when made with extra soy sauce rather than fish sauce.
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .