Thai Pineapple Rice with Shrimp

I first had this dish at Pasara Thai restaurant in Kingstown, VA. It comes served in a pineapple shell. A beautiful presentation. It is a little on the sweet side but could also be served cold as a refreshing summer dinner dish.

I did not serve our dinner in pineapple shells but Vince seemed to like it anyway. It was relatively easy to make, it just required a little bit of prep work. I used shrimp as the protein for our dinner but you can substitute anything you would like. I don't think the sweet flavors would work well with red meat though so I would stick with poultry, pork, and seafood.

Thai Pineapple Rice

Ingredients

1 Fresh Pineapple, diced
3 Cups Cooked Rice (I used brown)
3/4 Cups Coconut Milk
1 Medium Onion, diced
2 Tablespoons Raisins
2 Tablespoons Cashews, chopped
2 Tablespoons Oil, olive or peanut
1/2 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 Tablespoon Coriander
1/2 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric
2 Teaspoons Minced Garlic
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
30 Shrimp (I used precooked frozen)

Directions

1. In a blender add the cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric, garlic, salt, 1/2 of the diced onion, and 1/4 cup coconut milk. Blend until it becomes a thick paste.
2. In a large saucepan or wok, cook the shrimp (or heat through if precooked, frozen).
3. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside for later.
4. Remove water/juice from the pan.
5. Add oil to the pan and heat.
6. Add 1/2 of the diced onion and cook until soft.
7. Add the paste to the onions and fry for about a minute, until browned.
8. Add the pineapple, rice, coconut milk, raisins, and cashews to the pan.
9. Stir and cook until the milk is completely absorbed.
10. Add the sugar and the shrimp to the pan.
11. Cook until the shrimp is heated through.

At this point, you can be fancy and serve the rice in the pineapple shell or you can be unfancy, like me, and serve it in cereal bowls. You can also be adventurous and try to eat it with chopsticks. Although we do own chopsticks, I have not yet mastered eating rice with them. So we used spoons. However you decide to serve this or eat it, you will love it.