Pineapple Fried Rice

If you’ve never added pineapple to fried rice, you’re missing out! This Thai-style dish combines the sweet, tangy tropical fruit with curry powder and cashews for a vibrantly hued, texturally striking, and flavor-packed fried rice. It’s definitely a stand-alone dish with all the protein and vegetables you need for a satisfying meal. “Boring” and “bland” will never be the words you use to describe it.

Jasmine rice is best for Thai-style fried rice. It won’t fall apart easily during all the stir-frying, and the plump grains soak up a lot of flavor. Fried rice should be made with day-old rice and is best cold out, straight from the fridge. Freshly cooked rice will turn out too mushy, so plan ahead.

Onions and bell pepper are used in this recipe, but feel free to swap them out for whatever you like. Just don’t go overboard and add so much that you can’t toss the fried rice around in the wok (otherwise it’ll just steam in there). Other great vegetables to try are as follows:

• Broccoli
• Peas
• Tomatoes
• Carrots

In addition to using leftover, cold rice, here are a few tips that will set you up for success when making any kind of fried rice.

1. A really hot cooking vessel (woks are preferable) and a generous slick of oil will ensure that your ingredients don’t stick. Preheating is mandatory!
2. Don’t overcrowd the pan — you’ll lose heat and end up with soggy rice instead of fried rice. Cook your fried rice in batches if necessary, and never more than two servings at once.
3. Make sure all your ingredients are chopped, measured out, and ready to go next to the stove. Once you fire it up and start stir-frying, things move very quickly and there’s no time to dawdle.