Pineapple Basil Fried Rice

I order pineapple fried rice almost every other time I go to a Thai restaurant (my alternate dish being the delicious Pad Thai ). The yellow pineapple chunks (which absorb the sweet and spicy flavors of the dish) mixed with cashew nuts and other crisp vegetables in the fragrant rice seasoned with basil is simply irresistible. I woke up last weekend with a craving for this and decided to cook up my own recipe to make it at home.

I boiled 1 cup of jasmine rice with 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of coconut milk. I used the idea of adding coconut milk from my mom who used this while making 'pulao'. This gives the rice an added fragrance.

I then scrambled some eggs and set them aside. In a large heated wok, I added some oil and fried some thinly sliced spirng onions with 1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste. I then tossed in some shredded carrots, baby corn, shredded cabbage and thinly sliced green pepper. I would have liked to add some tofu but did not have it in hand that day. I sauted all the vegetables for roughly 5 minutes so as not to loose their crispness.
While the veggies were stir-frying I mixed together some soya sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, chilli sauce and tomato ketchup with little water. I do not use any definite measurements but propotion them to the taste I crave at the moment (always salty and spicy!). I then added the sauce, pineapple chunks (I used the tinned cut pineapples) and cooked rice to the vegetables and mixed them gently. I seasoned the rice with some fresh basil leaves plucked right out of my garden. I usually add the basil right at the end so they do not cook too much. The final touch was to garnish with some fried cashew nuts and few sprigs of cilantro.



This recipe is toss-this-in-toss-that-in kinda recipe but if you need specific measurements, do let me know and I can provide you with an estimate.
I am sending this recipe off to Ammalu for the Herb Mania event featuring Basil for this month.



I have Thai basil which is an easy plant to grow (atleast it has managed to survive with me so far!). The only requirement is plenty of sunlight and regular watering. It is very easy maintainence. I really like the convenience of having fresh basil at hand. It is a simple joy to be able to flavor my dishes with this fresh herb any time.