
Pineapple fried rice
Sweet pineapple, toasted cashews and a little curry powder turn leftover rice into the Thai takeout favorite, salty, sweet and a bit crunchy.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.09 a serving
- 590 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Dairy-free

Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups jasmine rice, cooked and chilled, about 4½ cups (leftover rice is perfect)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ½ cup cashews
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 1½ cups canned pineapple chunks, drained
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
- ¼ cup raisins (optional)
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
Each serving has about 590 calories, 15 g protein, 89 g carbs and 21 g fat, and costs about $2.09 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No cashews? Almonds work.
- No frozen mixed vegetables? Frozen peas or frozen corn or frozen green beans work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No raisins? Dried cranberries work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Break up the cold rice with your fingers until there are no big clumps. the onion and pepper and the garlic.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Dolly’s tip: Cold rice fries into separate, chewy grains. Fresh, warm rice turns mushy in the pan.Stir the soy sauce, curry powder and sugar together in a small bowl.
Toast the cashews in a large dry over medium heat, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes, until in spots. Tip them onto a plate.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Nuts go from golden to burnt in seconds, so stay with the pan.Add 1 tablespoon oil to the , crack in the eggs and scramble until just set with no runny parts, about 1 minute. Slide them onto the plate with the cashews.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Turn the heat up to high. Add the rest of the oil, the onion and pepper, and about 3 minutes, until the onion .
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
High heatTimer: 3 min
Add the garlic and frozen vegetables and 2 minutes, until the vegetables are hot.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
High heatTimer: 2 min
Add the rice and press it into the pan. Leave it for 1 minute, then 3 to 4 minutes, until every grain is steaming hot.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
High heatTimer: 4 min
Dolly’s tip: Use rice that went into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking. Rice left out overnight isn’t safe, even once it’s fried.Food safety: Put leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot, 165°F.
Pour the sauce around the edge of the pan, add the pineapple and raisins, and 2 minutes, until the pineapple is hot and the rice is evenly .
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
High heatTimer: 2 min
in the eggs, cashews and most of the green onions. Serve with the rest of the green onions, the cilantro and lime wedges.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.

Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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