Cookbook #36 Thai

My sister picked up a couple of copies of the cookbook Thai and was sweet enough to give one to me. It's nearly 500 pages with multiple photos on each and every page. It's spicy, and sweet and makes a girl long for mom's cooking.

The title Thai however, is a bit misleading as the recipes actually span all of southeast asia. This afternoon I chose to go a bit outside the Thai border and make the Indonesian Pineapple Fried Rice. I was a bit hesitant at first to even experiment, because I love fried rice and sometimes when you try a new recipe, it's not love. Fried rice was not a food I was prepared to dislike, but luckily, this recipe was so very de-lish. I substituted chicken for the pork, because well, I don't like pork, and I also omitted the shrimp.

Indonesian Pineapple Fried Rice
adapted from Thai

1 cup fresh diced pineapple
2 tbsp garlic oil
1 small onion finely diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 boneless chicken breast diced
3-4 cups COLD cooked rice
1/3 cup chopped cashews
3-5 tbsp soy sauce (to taste)
1-2 tbsp fish sauce (to taste)

1. Peel and dice pineapple and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat and add onions and carrots. Cook for 3-4 minutes and add pepper and peas. Cook for additional 2 mins. Move to bowl and set aside.

3. Heat other tbsp of oil and add diced chicken and garlic. Cook through.

4. Return veggies to pan with chicken and stir to combine. Add pineapple.

5. Break up cold rice (fresh cooked rice will turn to mush) and add to pan.
6. Stir through and add soy sauce and fish sauce to taste. Cook only long enough to heat rice.

7. Remove from heat and sprinkle with chopped cashews.

You would think I would set up the photo a little bit better, but I was pretty hungry. So, not so much.