Thai Stir Fried Rice And Pineapple (Kho Pad Sapparot)

Directions

1. Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise, and scoop out the fruit, then chop it into bite-sized chunks. Put the fruit in a bowl and add in the shallots, jalapeno, ginger, scallion and coriander, mix and set aside. Add in a healthy pinch of salt to bring out the juice.
2. In a wok, heat about a Tbsp. of oil, and stir-fry the shrimp till crispy, and the oil is aromatic. Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and drain, then set aside.
3. Add in a further Tbsp. of oil, and stir-fry the garlic till golden. Add in the rice, and stir thoroughly. Add in the fish sauce and sugar, and continue stirring. When the rice is heated through, add in the pineapple mix and cooked shrimp, and stir till thoroughly heated through. Pour the mix into the pineapple shells, garnish and serve. (Note: If you prefer fried rice to be darkish brown in color, then replace half the fish sauce with dark sweet soy sauce.)
4. Variation: Don't cook the fruit mix. Instead put the fruit mix and the stir fried rice in the fridge (separately) and refrigerateall the ingredients. Just before serving mix them and put them in the pineapple skins. If you are serving cool then you can also add in a few mareschino cherries as garnish. This cool variant makes an excellent counterpoint to warm curries and spicy chilli dishes on a warm day.
5. Comments: This is an unusual recipe for Thai food because it is essentially a vegetarian dish - not common in Thailand, where even nominally vegetarian dishes often contain meat. For two people you need a medium sized pineapple: choose carefully it should be sweet and juicy.