Thai pineapple rice is a fragrant, sweet and savory side dish that combines ingredients often found in Thai cooking like pineapple, pandan leaves and turmeric with less common ingredients like cinnamon and ham. This mixture creates a rich and complex dish. Typically served with roasted or braised meats like chicken or pork, Thai pineapple rice makes a compelling side dish for almost any Thai entrée. Sweet green and yellow curries work exceptionally well with this rice, enhancing both the texture and flavor.
Instructions
1. Heat a wok until it begins to smoke. Add the vegetable oil when the wok is extremely hot and fry the dried prawns and ham until they become brown. Transfer the contents of the wok to a warm serving plate and set aside.
2. Fry the pineapple cubes in the same wok for five to seven minutes until light brown. Reserve the and liquid in a small bowl.
3. Add butter to the wok and fry the onions, garlic and cinnamon for three to five minutes. Stir in the rice, curry powder, ground turmeric, crushed chicken bullion cube, salt and lemon juice and cook for an additional five to seven minutes over medium-high heat.
4. Transfer the contents of the wok to the electric rice cooker and add the pandan leaves. Add the boiling water and cook for 35-40 minutes or until the rice is tender. Fluff with a fork and set aside for 30 minutes before serving. Top with the dried prawns, pineapple and cubed ham. Serve hot.
Tags: dried prawns, five seven, minutes, , pandan leaves, pineapple cubes
