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pineapple fried rice- served

Pineapple Fried Rice - Scrumptious and Easy

Wash and rinse brown Jasmine rice. Add measured water, add seasonings and place in the pressure cooker. Cook at full pressure for 22-25 min, release pressure normally. Meanwhile, season the coconut milk and marinate crumbled tofu. Prep the pineapple and veggies. Saute the onions, garlic and ginger then add pineapple and chilli paste. Add cooked rice, marinated tofu and tomatoes; drizzle with seasoned coconut milk, cover and simmer for a few min. Stir gently to mix and top with roasted cashews, sesame seeds and green onions. Serve immediately, along with soup and steamed Edamame pods. Enjoy!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting time for pressure to release normally 10 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese, Thai
Servings 2 people
Calories 409 kcal

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker with insert container/bowl preferred if not available, see Recipe Notes for alternative directions for cooking rice
  • Wok or wide frying pan - non-stick coated preferred if not available, non-coated, heavy bottom pan is OK: it may need more oil to prevent sticking/burning

Ingredients
  

Seasoned Brown Rice (or 1 1/4 cups cooked rice - fluffed)

  • 1/2 cup Brown Jasmine Rice if not available, other variety of brown rice OK: small/medium grain preferred. White rice OK too. Also see Recipe Notes
  • 9 tbsp Water 9 tbsp = 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp
  • 1/4 tsp Salt do not add extra at this stage: adjust at the end, since the soy sauce and chilli paste add saltiness too.
  • 1/8 tsp Black peppercorns - 5-6
  • 1/4 tsp Crushed Red pepper Chilli flakes
  • 1 piece Star Anise broken pieces OK (4-5 pieces)
  • 1 tsp Oil I like Peanut oil; any mild oil OK; do NOT use Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Marinated Tofu - (for soy-free, but not vegan, use Paneer/fresh cottage cheese)

  • 1/4 cup Tofu : extra firm - crumbled coarsely for soy-free, use Paneer/fresh cottage cheese (this will not be vegan)
  • 1 tsp Soy sauce - low-sodium for soy-free and gluten-free, use Coconut Aminos
  • 2 tsp Water
  • 1 tsp Fresh Red Chilli Paste I recommend Sambal Oelek; other red chilli paste is fine too; see Recipe Notes
  • 1/4 tsp Ginger- grated
  • 1/2 tsp Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Oil omit if using Paneer

Other ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Fresh Pineapple - diced small if fresh not available, canned is OK
  • 1 tsp Fresh Ginger - grated if not available, use 1/2 tsp dried ginger powder -
  • 1 tsp Garlic - minced 1-2 cloves
  • 1/4 cup Green onions - white and light green part- sliced rounds 3-4 green onions
  • 1/4 cup Carrots - shredded
  • 1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper - diced small
  • 1/2 cup Tomatoes - diced small about 1 medium Roma; any variety OK
  • 1 tsp Fresh Red Chilli Paste I recommend Sambal Oelek; other red chilli paste is fine too; see Recipe Notes
  • 1 tsp Sesame Oil Not toasted Sesame Oil; other mild-flavored oil OK too
  • 2 tbsp Coconut Milk For Nut-free: use other nut-free plant-based milk; see Recipe Notes
  • 1/2 tsp Soy sauce - low sodium for soy-free and gluten-free, use Coconut Aminos
  • 2 tbsp Water
  • 1 tsp Thai Red Curry Paste - highly recommended if not available, use fresh red chilli paste - I recommend Sambal Oelek; other red chilli paste is fine too; see Recipe Notes

Toppings

  • 2 tbsp Roasted Cashews Omit fro Nut-free
  • 1 tbsp Roasted Sesame seeds Brown or white
  • 1/4 cup Green onions - green tops - sliced from 3-4 green onions
  • 2 tbsp Cilantro- optional - chopped

Instructions
 

Cook the brown rice first: Skip this part if you have leftover cooked rice - see Recipe Notes for adding seasonings to cooked rice.

  • Place the brown rice (1/2 cup) in a bowl. Add water and scrub gently. Carefully pour the water off and repeat 2-3 times - the water will start to look almost clear by the 3rd rinse.
    Transfer the rinsed rice to a fine mesh strainer and drain thoroughly.
  • Transfer the drained rice to a stainless steel pressure cooker insert container (or a stainless steel bowl that can fit inside the pressure cooker - about 1 qt/1 L) size should work fine)
    Add carefully measured water - 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (about 9 oz) to the rice. Add the seasonings: salt, star anise, black pepper, crushed red pepper and oil. Stir to mix.
    Prepare the pressure cooker for "pot-in-pot" cooking: place the rack and add about 2 cups water to the "outer" pot. Place the rice container - the "inner" pot - on the rack, close the lid and start cooking - cook at full pressure for 25 min. Allow pressure to release normally. if pressure is not fully released after 12-13 min, force-release residual pressure carefully.
    brown rice-cook in pressure cooker

While the rice cooks, prep the remaining ingredients

  • Place the tofu in a bowl and gently crumble it with your fingers.
    Firm tofu crumbles
  • Prepare the marinade in a separate bowl : mix soy sauce, water, ginger, fresh red chilli paste, sugar, and oil.
    tofu marinade
  • Add the marinade to the crumbled tofu; cover and set aside to absorb flavors while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
    seasoned tofu
  • Prepare the seasoned coconut milk mixture: mix 2 tbsp coconut milk with 2 tbsp water, 1 tsp soy sauce (or Coconut Aminos) and 1 tsp Thai Red Curry paste.
    coconut milk and seasonings
  • Cover and set aside.
    red curry seasoned coconut milk
  • Rinse and slice the green onions, separating the white and light green bottom part from the dark green tops.
    sliced scallions
  • Peel and chop the garlic.
    garlic
  • Rinse, peel and grate/shred the ginger
    ginger
  • Rinse, peel and shred the carrots
  • Rinse and dice the red bell pepper - small dice
    chopped red bell pepper
  • Rinse and dice the tomatoes
    chopped tomatoes for curry
  • Dice the pineapple - small dice, collecting the juice that is released while cutting.
    finely diced fresh pineapple

Check the pressure cooker

  • Check the pressure cooker: the pressure should be released by this time.
    Open the lid and remove the rice container from the cooker (use tongs - it will be hot!) and set it aside to cool a little before turning out on to a plate/cookie sheet.
    Spread gently with a fork to separate the grains and cool further, taking care not to smash the delicate rice kernels.

Prepare the fried rice

  • Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok or shallow frying pan (10 inch/25 cm)
  • Add sliced onion (white and light green part), garlic and ginger and saute for about 1 min on medium heat.
  • Add carrots and red bell peppers
    saute carrots bell peppers
  • Add pineapple, along with the collected juice. Stir to mix.
  • Add 1 tsp fresh red chilli paste and stir to mix.
  • Spread the cooled brown rice over the pineapple and veggie mixture.
    Spread the marinated tofu crumbles over the rice.
  • Spread the tomatoes evenly.
    Using a small spoon, drizzle the seasoned coconut milk all over. Do NOT stir.
    tomatoes and seasoned coconut milk on rice
  • Cover and simmer 8-10 min on low-medium heat
    cover and simmer rice
  • Remove cover: the tomatoes should be cooked
  • Mix gently, then top with half of the sliced green onions (dark green tops), cilantro and roasted cashews.
    fried rice with cashews
  • Transfer to serving platter and top remaining green onions and roasted sesame seeds.
    Serve immediately, accompanied by soup, steamed Edamame pods, etc. Put out extra soy sauce and chilli sauce to let folks add extra seasonings as they wish.
    Pineapple fried rice-served
  • Enjoy!
    pineapple fried rice- served

Notes

Plain Cooked Rice: Season it!
If using leftover plain cooked rice (white or brown), it will taste much better if you season it before adding to the sauteed veggie-pineapple mixture.
  • Spread out the cooked rice on a dinner plate : about 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups of cooked, gently separated rice kernels.
    • Sprinkle the following over the rice
      • 1/4 tsp salt
      • 1/8 tsp freshly crushed black pepper
    • Mix
      • 1/2 tsp fresh chilli paste
      • 1 tsp oil
      • 1 tbsp water
    • Drizzle the oil-chilli paste-water mixture over the rice
    • Use your fingers to gently mix the seasonings into the rice
  • Cover and set aside the seasoned rice for 10-15 min while you prep remaining ingredients.
 
Cook Brown Rice without pressure cooker
If ou do not have a pressure cooker, no worries. You can easily cook it in a heavy bottom pot on the stove-top - it will just take a bit longer and will require some baby-sitting along the way. I have described a couple of different ways to do it. You will need to decide which one you might prefer.
Cook it like Pasta:
  • Bring about 4 cups of water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan (2qt / 2L)
    • add seasonings as directed for cooking rice
  • Decrease heat and add the rinsed rice ( see Recipe Directions for rinsing rice)
  • Bring back to a gentle boil
  • Simmer, uncovered, for about 25 min, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking at the bottom
  • Check for done-ness:
    • Pull out a couple of kernels with a spoon, cool a bit and then do a bite- and taste-test.
      • It should be soft-cooked all the way to the center- not hard/crunchy.
  • Place a fine mesh strainer over a sturdy bowl or other container
    • preferably stainless steel mesh
  • Pour the hot cooked rice with the cooking liquid into the strainer
    • Collect the cooking liquid:
      • It is a bit starchy and has nutrients from the rice: do not throw!
        • Use it for making soup or for cooking other food
    • Return the hot rice back to the pot and cover with a lid
      • Set aside for 5-10 min.
      • Gently fluff with a fork and spread on a plate to cool and dry out a bit.
      • Use in the recipe as directed
Steam-cook in a steamer pan
  • Follow directions as for pressure-cooker, except place the container with the rice in a steamer assembly.
    • Make sure there is enough water at the bottom of the steamer pan
  • Start heating until you see steam.
  • Decrease heat and steam for about 35-40 min.
  • Check for done-ness
    • If center of rice is still hard in the center, continue to steam for another 8-10 min
      • be sure to check that there is enough water at the bottom of the steamer pan - add boiling hot water (NOT cold water), if need be.
      • check for done-ness again
  • When rice is fully cooked, turn the heat off, but leave it in the steamer pan for another 10 min or so.
  • Remove the rice from the steamer pan, let cool for a few min and fluff with a fork.
  • Spread out on a plate to cool and dry out a little.
  • Use in the recipe as directed
 
To make this dish Soy-free:
  • Replace Soy sauce with Soy-free Coconut Aminos
  • Replace Tofu with fresh Paneer or cottage cheese
    • this will keep the recipe vegetarian but not vegan
  • Omit Tofu:
    • this will decrease the protein content of the dish
    • add other protein component of your choice: either on the rice, or as a side dish
 
To make this dish Gluten-free:
  • Use gluten-free Soy sauce - such as Tamari Sauce or Coconut Aminos
 
To make this dish Nut-free:
  • Use Nut-free Oil
  • Replace coconut milk with nut-free milk of your choice - pumpkin seed milk is a good option
  • Replace Cashews with pumpkin/sunflower seeds
 
Storing leftovers
This rice is best when freshly made. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in a covered glass/ceramic container. It does not freeze well - becomes soggy and unappetizing upon thawing and reheating.
  • Consume refrigerated leftovers within 2-3 days. 
    • Reheat in a pan on the stove-top, or in the microwave until heated through.

Nutrition

Calories: 409kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 11gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 604mgPotassium: 701mgFiber: 6gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 4250IUVitamin C: 61mgCalcium: 127mgIron: 4mg
Keyword brown rice, cooked rice, Fresh Tomatoes, fried rice, Green onions, Pineapple, red bell pepper, Rice
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