Pineapple Fried Rice

An amazing recipe from my mom that's perfect after any long day.

Ever since we went into quarantine, we've never eaten any outside food. Never. Ever.

And the strange part is, we've never really missed it. Sure, sometimes it's nice to eat restaurant food, but none of my family(myself included) ever had cravings for outside food.

Probably because my mom's such a good cook. And while I usually make breakfast, my mother is the queen of cooking. From simple pasta to thai curry, you name it, she can make it. The only thing we all missed a little was eating food from Thai Spoons, an awesome Thai restaurant nearby. However, that void was filled quickly because my mom, being the amazing person she is, learned how to make Thai curry, noodles, and, of course, this recipe, pineapple fried rice. Obviously we couldn't go full restaurant-style and serve it in a hollowed out pineapple, but everything else was spot-on.

If you close your eyes and smell the rice, you will instantly transported to a Thai restaurant. I'm not even joking, you can't tell the difference. And the taste? Even better. The spices with vegetables and rice have phenomenal flavor, and the sweet and sour pineapple makes it fried rice perfection.

Even if you're not a vegan, or into Thai food, you HAVE to try this. But, obviously, if you're craving takeout, make this recipe. It'll leave you so satisfied you may never even order from a restaurant again. (Just kidding. But seriously, try it.)

Thanks mom:)

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Pineapple Fried Rice

Cuisine: Southeast Asian

Course: Dinner

Author: Prachi Marfatia(my mom was the maker of the recipe though)

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 cups of rice, cooked(we used half brown and half white, but you can use any)

1/2 cup chopped pineapple

3/4 - 1 cup tofu cubes

1 carrot, chopped into small sticks(or any shape)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sweet/sour sauce

2 tsp garlic-ginger paste

2-3 tbsp cup chopped nuts(we used walnuts, but you can use cashews, pecans, etc. as well)

1-2 small green chillies

Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat, and pour a tablespoon or two of oil in once it's hot. Once the oil heats up as well, add in the tofu cubes, garlic ginger paste, and a pinch of salt.

Pan-fry the tofu for about 10 minutes, until crispy and golden brown, then take it out of the pan. Then saute the carrots, some onions if you like, and any other desired vegetables for about 5-7 minutes, adding the soy sauce and sweet-sour sauce while you're at it. Now add the chilis, nuts, and any other seasoning of your choice. Stir that for a minute or two and then add the rice. Mix it thoroughly so the flavors are fully incorporated into the rice. After mixing it for 5-6 minutes, stir in the soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and salt, and of course, the pineapple. Mix it well for 2-3 minutes, then let it cool down a little, scoop some into a bowl, and enjoy!

Notes:

• The most important thing here is to MIX EVERYTHING very well. It makes sure that the flavors will really come through when you eat it.

• For some people, the resulting rice may need a bit more salt, so adjust the soy sauce and salt to your liking.