Ginger pineapple fried rice, a perfect use for leftover rice, makes a delicious side dish for shrimp, pork, or chicken.
Have leftover plain rice?
This Ginger Pineapple Fried Rice is a great rice side dish for shrimp, pork, or chicken that calls for starting with chilled, cooked rice.
I grilled some shrimp with some fresh pineapple the other day and served it with this ginger pineapple fried rice.
Delicious! And very easy to make. You can probably substitute canned pineapple if fresh isn’t available.
What’s the secret to perfect fried rice?
The most important thing is to use leftover rice! Make the rice a day ahead of time and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
The rice will contract and dry out a bit in the fridge, making it less palatable if you are just going to eat leftover rice, but perfect for cooking with to make fried rice.
Ginger Pineapple Fried Rice Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 5 cups leftover cooked basmati rice (from 2 cups of raw rice)*
- 3 Tbsp peanut oil, rice bran oil, canola oil, or cooking oil
- 3 tablespoons finely minced fresh peeled ginger
- 5 green onions, separated white and light green parts and dark green parts, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup diced (1/4 inch cubes) fresh pineapple (see How to Cut Pineapple)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if cooking gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
*If making rice from scratch, cook the raw rice according to the package instructions. Spread the hot, cooked rice out in a rimmed baking sheet to cool off and air dry. Let the rice dry out for a couple of hours and then proceed with the recipe, or put in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator overnight and proceed the next day.
Method
1 Sauté onions and ginger: Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Swirl in a tablespoon of oil to coat the pan.
When the oil is shimmering hot, add the ginger and the white and pale greens parts of the green onions.
Sprinkle with salt and stir fry until fragrant, about a minute.
2 Brown the rice: Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. When the oil is hot, add the cooked, leftover rice to the pan, breaking it up with your fingers as you sprinkle it into the pan.
Let the rice fry in the pan without moving it for a minute or two, until it starts to brown. Then stir it so that it turns over in the pan, and let it cook for a minute or two more.
3 Stir in pineapple, more green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil: Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chopped pineapple, sliced green onion greens, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
Add salt to taste and serve.
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine.
