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#CookClub recipe No. 25: Pineapple Fried Rice (w/ video)

 
#CookClub recipe No. 25 is Pineapple Fried Rice, a great accompaniment to chicken or seafood. Make is a vegetarian main dish by adding edamame and egg.  [Photo by JANET KEELER   |    TIMES]
#CookClub recipe No. 25 is Pineapple Fried Rice, a great accompaniment to chicken or seafood. Make is a vegetarian main dish by adding edamame and egg. [Photo by JANET KEELER | TIMES]
Published Sept. 15, 2014

It's good to have an interesting, go-to side dish recipe at the ready. For me side dishes tend to be an afterthought so we end up with a lot of steamed broccoli. Healthy, but a bit boring.

Pineapple Fried Rice, #CookClub recipe No. 25 from the food blog Natashaskitchen.com, is going into my favorite's file and I urge you to try it. With the fresh ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil it obviously has an Asian accent and goes well with many things. It's perfect alongside chicken and beef, but I especially like it with salmon, shrimp or scallops. It could be a one-dish vegan meal with the addition of tofu and/or edamame, or simply vegetarian with an egg or two whisked in while the rice mixture is cooking.

Check out my video on how to peel ginger for a nifty way to get that pesky skin off. It's also easier to grate when it's frozen, a trick that I just learned and made me wonder why I had not been freezing fresh ginger all along. Those alien-looking "hands" last indefinitely if well-wrapped and frozen, but not so long in the refrigerator.

I used fresh, pre-cut pineapple but you could substitute well-drained canned chunks. They might be a bit mushier, but the flavor should still be good.

As always, I look forward to seeing how the #CookClub changes up the recipe. Post your comments and photos on Instagram.

Join us online!

To participate in #CookClub online, the key is to remember #CookClub because that's how you'll tag everything. You'll have two weekends to make the recipe and post a photo on Instagram.

Post photos and comments about the Pineapple Fried Rice by 6 p.m. Sept. 28. Some of the photos and comments will be printed Oct. 1 in the Taste section of the Tampa Bay Times.

And don't forget to join us from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursdays for a >live #CookClub chat on Twitter.

EASY

Pineapple Fried Rice

2 cups cooked white rice, cold

2 tablespoons vegetable (not olive) oil

½ onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon fresh, grated ginger (see note)

½ sweet red bell pepper, diced

1½ cups fresh pineapple

2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste

1 teaspoon sesame oil, optional (but highly recommended)

Garnish:

2 tablespoons sliced scallions

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, optional

Rinse rice thoroughly and cook according to package instructions, adding 1 tablespoon butter and ½ tablespoon salt. Cool completely. If you use warm or hot rice, your fried rice will be sticky.

Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet or wok over medium heat, then swirl in 2 tablespoons oil. Add diced onion and cook about 1 minute or until softened. Next toss in garlic and grated ginger and sauté another minute, stirring constantly.

Increase heat to med/high and add diced bell pepper with pineapple and continue to sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.

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Add 2 cups cooked rice and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Continue to stir over the heat another minute or until soy sauce is well blended. Turn off the heat and stir in sesame oil.

Serve with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds if desired and serve warm.

Serves 4.

Note: Fibrous ginger is easier to grate when it has been frozen for at least an hour. If it's grated finely, you don't need to peel it but you might want to scrub first to remove any dirt. It is easily peeled, however, by scrapping with the edge of a spoon.

Source: NatashasKitchen.com