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Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

Lemme tell you something. Thai Pineapple Fried Rice is a fried rice like no other. This fried rice recipe is flavorful with Thai-inspired spices and seasoning, and combined with chunks of pineapple that bring a subtly sweet, tropical flavor to each bite.

We are pretty much addicted to this pineapple fried rice in our household. I kinda have a feeling you will be too!

A bowl of Thai Pineapple Fried Rice with chopsticks on the bowl

If you love fried rice, you’ll want to try Spam Fried Rice, Steak Fried Rice, Tofu Fried Rice and Easy Chicken Fried Rice! They are all so delicious!

Why Thai Pineapple Fried Rice?

I was sharing a video of me making fried rice on Instagram Stories for dinner one day. I inserted a poll asking everyone whether they like fried rice. The poll came back with every single person answering yes, they love fried rice.

That is when I knew the fried rice love was real. Like legit real.

I will admit I am super picky about my fried rice. It is not one of the things I typically I order at Asian restaurants.

Not because I don’t like fried rice, but because they are often mediocre at many restaurants or takeout places. They are never awful, are totally edible, but I’ll be honest, they are typically not amazing.

Fried rice isn’t just about pouring soy sauce onto rice and adding protein and some veggies. A delicious serving of fried rice is typically where the rice is fluffy (not wet and soaked in sauce) and oh-so-flavorful. That’s how we are making this amazing Thai Pineapple Fried Rice recipe!

What I love about Thai Pineapple Fried Rice is that it brings on SO MUCH FLAVOR. The flavor is complex and not one dimensional. I love encountering little pieces of pineapples in the midst of the savory goodness.

It is a fun dish that you can find at many Thai Restaurants, but but hope is, after this, you will learn that it is totally doable at home.

What kind of rice to use for fried rice?

Ingredients for Thai Pineapple Fried Rice - Rice, mixed veggies, pineapple chunks, minced garlic and onions
Ingredients for Thai Pineapple Fried Rice – overnight cooked rice, pineapple, mixed veggies, minced garlic and minced onions

You can use any types of rice, although I highly recommend jasmine rice for this particular recipe because most classic Southeast Asian dishes use jasmine rice. It’s a type of rice widely grown in Thailand.

But here’s the real trick about the rice – use overnight cooked rice. Rice that is cooked and refrigerated overnight is dryer in texture, and THAT is what you need for fried rice.

When you make fried rice with freshly cooked rice, it will be gooey in texture, a.k.a. not desirable for fried rice.

Using overnight cooked right is applicable for not just Thai Pineapple Fried Rice, but ALL fried rice.

Ingredients for Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

The sauce is the secret to making this fried rice recipe as flavorful and delicious as it is.

It is a simple combination of soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, a little bite of salt and pepper. Just enough to coat the rice with it, but not enough to the rice swim in it.

If fish sauce is new to you, don’t be intimidated. It is widely use in many Thai dishes, and is present (and an important ingredient) in popular dishes such as Pad Thai and Pad See Ew. If you have had Thai food, most likely you have had fish sauce.

A large bowl and a small bowl of Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

It has a strong scent and flavor, especially prior to cooking, but trust me when I say it merges with the other seasoning and spices so well it creates a gorgeous flavor in the fried rice. It can be found very easily at most main stream grocery stores in the Asian aisle.

Another thing to note about fish sauce is this – a little goes a VERY LONG WAY. It is highly salty and even though this recipe only calls for only 1 1/4 tbsp of it in a large skillet/wok of fried rice, it will gives it plenty of flavor and salt.

In addition to the sauce, two other ingredients that gives this Thai Pineapple Fried Rice the amazing flavor is fresh garlic and onions. Be generous and use the full amount of what is called for.

I highly recommend using fresh garlic and mincing them, and definitely do not, under any circumstances, substitute the fresh garlic and onions for garlic powder and/or onions powder. Big no-no here. 😉

Appliances for making fried rice

A wok is definitely very convenient for making fried rice. It heats up well and is large enough that we can easily stir the fried rice around the wok when cooking, which enables it to cook evenly. This is the wok that I use and love (affiliate link).

However, if you do not own a wok, I highly recommend a large (as large as possible) skillet, especially non-stick ones where the sides are taller.

Tips for making fried rice

Scrambled eggs for Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
Scrambled eggs to be added to the Thai Pineapple Fried Rice at the end.

Fried rice is fairly easy to make, but it takes a few trial and error to perfect it, because stir frying is a bit of an art.

It is a method of cooking where you cannot just send it to cook and then come back to it when it is done cooking, like baking, or cooking using the slow cooker, or boiling food in a pot.

It requires your constant attention, but thankfully, for just a very short amount of time.

So here are a few tips to take note before you dive into the recipe below:

  • The stir-frying process goes FAST! So prep all your ingredients and line them up next to your stove top before you start cooking. Because once the process starts…you will want your ingredients within arms’ reached (chopped and ready to go).
  • Cook under high heat! Turn your heat up as high as possible. Yep, until it feels like you are heating up the house. But please, practice caution. 🙂 Fried rice tastes the BEST when it is cooked under high heat, because the slightly charred flavor is achieved through high heat. Using appliances that retain heat well will help!
  • Do not crowd the wok/skillet. If you don’t have a large enough wok or skillet, consider cooking this in two batches. If you are doubling this recipe, definitely cook them in two batches. You want to have enough room to move the fried rice around while it cooks.
Closeup of Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

For more general stir frying tips, where some tips are more applicable to this Thai Pineapple Fried Rice recipe than others, check out my article – 8 Tips to a Great Stir Fry.

Other Rice Dishes

Other Thai/Southeast Asian Recipes

DID YOU ENJOY THIS RECIPE? Please comment below and give us a 5-star rating! This will help others find this recipe on Google and Pinterest. We very much appreciate your help! 🤍

A large bowl and a small bowl of Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

Easy and delicious fried rice recipe with Thai-inspired flavor and seasoning, combined with chunks of pineapple and chicken. The perfect flavorful Thai dinner dish for any day!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: asian, Thai
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 3 servings
Calories: 338kcal
Author: MinShien

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked jasmine rice refrigerated overnight
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup minced white onions
  • 2-3 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 strips raw chicken tenderloins
  • 1 cup pineapple diced
  • 1 cup peas and carrots
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil more if needed
  • 1-2 tbsp chopped green onions garnish

Sauce

  • 1 1/4 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp black or white pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt or to taste

Instructions

  • Cut up ingredients – slice chicken tenderloins, mince garlic and onions, dice pineapple, and slice green onions. Remove cooked rice from refrigerator and fluff using a spoon or fork so that it is not clump up together.
  • Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. In another small bowl, beat up the two eggs.
  • Prep all ingredients and move them next to the stove. Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil to a large wok or skillet, and heat wok or skillet on medium.
  • Add eggs to wok/skillet, once they are fairly cooked at the bottom (should still be runny on top), flip and cook the other side. Break eggs into smaller pieces and once eggs are no longer runny but still soft, remove from heat promptly. 
    Scrambled eggs for Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
  • Add 1 tbsp (or more) of vegetable oil to wok/skillet and heat wok on high heat.
  • Once oil is heated up, add minced garlic and onions. Stir for ~10 seconds or until fragrant (do not brown or burn), then immediately add slices of chicken. 
  • Once chicken is cooked, add rice and let it cook for a few minutes. Keep stirring.
  • Next add sauce and stir to coat rice evenly with sauce. Cook for another minute or so. 
  • Then add mixed veggies and cooked eggs. Stir to combine. Then add pineapples. Stir to combine again. Taste and add salt if needed.
  • Remove fried rice from heat. Garnish with green onions. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 1201mg | Potassium: 338mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 4645IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Take a pic and tag me at @joyous.apron, or hashtag #joyousapron on Instagram!

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5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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6 Comments

  1. This sounds wonderful. My husband loves fried rice so much he volunteers to cook it. He does not normally cook. How many eggs? The recipe does not list eggs in the ingredients.

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      Oops – it’s two eggs! I just added it on there!

  2. Is the amount of garlic supposed to be in table spoons? That’s a LOT of garlic.

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      It is correct. It is a lot more than usual but it’s what brings flavor to the rice. It will not make it spicy. If you prefer, reduce it to 1 tbsp or even 2 tsp. Make sure to not skim on the onions if you reduce the garlic to ensure that the rice is flavored well. Let me know what you end up doing and how it goes! 🙂

  3. Michaela Kenkel says:

    5 stars
    We are HUGE pineapple fans here, so you have to know that this recipe was D E V O U R E D!!!! We loved every bite!

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      Yay! Thanks for the comment, Michaela!