The sweet and salty flavors might seem contradictory, but in this dish, they make an exquisite partnership.
Every day, rice is served in Asia. Steamed white rice is the basic way to eat it, but there are another 101 ways to whip up something good with rice, and it’s even better if made with leftovers. In my parents’ kitchen, the electric rice cooker never rested — ever. There is always a meal to serve with rice, and in the process, leftovers are quite frequent. That’s when fried rice dishes come into play. The objective of fried rice is to put together and use up all the leftovers you have, but some combinations remain classic. Pineapple, ham and chicken are popular ingredients to combine in one rice dish. The sweetness of the pineapple does not go against but instead complements all the other salty flavors in the dish.
Pineapple and chicken fried rice recipe
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 whole fresh pineapple, cleaned and dried up
- 1 cup diced fresh pineapple
- Olive oil
- 1 cup diced chicken
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- Ground black pepper
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 1 cup diced cooked ham
- 3 cups cooked white rice
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
Directions:
- Slice the pineapple vertically in half. Using a sharp knife, remove the pulp.
- Dice the pineapple, measure out 1 cup to use in this recipe, and set aside the rest for other recipes.
- In a large saucepan or wok with olive oil over medium heat, sauté the chicken. Add 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, and sprinkle on some black pepper. Cook until all the sides are cooked through.
- Add the green peas, and cook with the chicken for 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked ham and the pineapple. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the rice, mix well with the other ingredients, cooking for another 3 minutes.
- Pour in the remaining soy sauce, and sprinkle with some pepper and sesame seeds, if using.
More mixed rice recipes
Chorizo rice with tomatoes
5-Minute pork fried rice
Easy homemade vegetable fried rice
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