Hawaiian Pineapple Fried Rice brings back memories of living in Kauai. Especially now that it’s been a two-week-long Snowmaggedon that is making me yearn for a sunny island somewhere, anywhere!
Edited 2/18/21
Hawaiian Fried Rice
Cool salads or dishes with a tropical twist can help extend the summer wherever you call home. One of our family favorites is fried rice – we love it with lots of veggies, especially green peas and, it’s easy to adapt it to any cuisine – add kimchi to riff on Korean bibimbap or sambal as in Indonesian nasi goreng, or try a spicy Thai rendition with cucumbers to cool the fire. My fried rice is most like Hawaiian fried rice – makes sense since our mom was born and raised in Hawaii. Hawaiian fried rice usually contains egg, green onions, peas, cubed carrots, and either Portuguese sausage or Spam or both, and is cooked in sesame oil.
Mom on a Kauai beach, circa 1947/48 (?)
My mom grew up eating Spam in the islands. I remember she used to fry some up with rice or serve it with eggs for breakfast occasionally, but otherwise, I’ve only had Spam in musubi. When I make fried rice, regular Jimmy Dean sausage crumbles were my go-to, but not so much anymore since it’s so high in sodium.
Fried Rice is Versatile
The wonderful thing about fried rice is its versatility – which is probably why nearly every cuisine has its own version. It is a fantastic refrigerator dish meaning it’s a wonderful vehicle for the vegetables lurking in the crisper and leftovers from Chinese takeout or weekend grilling. It’s also a great way to get a serving or two of vegetables into the tummies of finicky eaters who normally cringe at servings of the edible rainbow.
Pineapple Fried Rice Recipe
Today’s fried rice makes excellent use of leftover grilled wild salmon (instead of Spam) with fresh pineapple for that island flavor. Close your eyes and fantasize about basking on the beach in Maui or lazing under a palm in the Caribbean.
This Hawaiian style fried rice with leftover grilled wild salmon (instead of Spam) and fresh pineapple takes you back to the islands, even in the middle of winter.
- 3 cups cooked white rice*
- 8 ounces of cooked salmon, flaked eliminate for a vegetarian version
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon sunflower or peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
- 1 teaspoon Togarashi seasoning*
- 1 cup frozen peas prepared according to package directions
- 1 cup fresh diced pineapple
- Condiments: furikaki sesame seeds, gomai
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Using a large chef's knife, cut off the crown and end of the pineapple. Cut in half lengthwise, then slice the pineapple flesh into 1/2 inch slices without cutting through the peel. Use a spoon to remove the fruit. Reserving one pineapple half for serving.
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Chop the carrots and prepare the rest of the vegetable. The cooking goes quickly when stir frying, so having your mis en place at the ready is best. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium high heat.
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Add the sunflower and sesame oil to the wok. Heat over med-high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Add the rice, turn up the heat to quickly brown the rice, stirring constantly. Remove the rice to a bowl.
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Lower the heat to med-high, add a little more oil if necessary before adding the carrots to the wok. Cook for 3-4 minutes, tossing or stirring constantly. Add the chile flakes and green onions, cook for another minute. Return the rice to the wok, add Togarashi, stir to combine the ingredients and cook for another minute. Move the rice mixture to one side, leaving a space to cook the egg mixture. Use a spoon to turn and quickly cook the eggs. Mix the eggs into the fried rice. Again, make a small space in the wok to add the peas and cook off any moisture before mixing them into the rice.
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Scoop rice into the pineapple half and garnish with chopped pineapple and black sesame seeds.
*Togarashi is a Japanese seasoning blend of chili pepper, orange peel, black and white sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, ginger and seaweed. I buy S&B brand which is salt-free. Drizzle with sriracha, sambal olek, soy sauce, etc. as desired. Easily made vegetarian and/or vegan, fried rice is also naturally gluten free and is a wonderful vehicle to include any vegetables that you prefer: broccoli, corn, chopped green beans, bean sprouts, etc.
Rice that has been refrigerated for several days is very dry and makes the best fried rice. If using freshly cooked rice, refrigerate uncovered for at least an hour and expect your fried rice to be moister.
**Save the soy sauce or tamari (gluten free) for the table if you want a crisper fried rice,
Aloha!
Have fun and be safe this Labor Day weekend!
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Beautiful just beautiful, and, I know, super boholicious! xo
This brings thoughts of my own mom. Mostly because she liked to hollow out stuff and serve from it! GREG
This is gorgeous and I adore the photo of your mom!
With a few adjustments (for vegans), this might just be a fantastic dish to say goodbye to the summer with here in Berlin, especially considering just how many great parks there are to eat in.
Can it look more delicious? Looks like Chinese rice but way more exotic! Inside a pineapple with so many colourful ingredients? Take my money, please!
Hi Lily! Thanks for visiting and the wonderful compliment 🙂
That photo of your mom is so lovely.
There’s a restaurant in Aliso Viejo…Urban Thai. They’re bestseller is the pineapple fried rice which they serve in the pineapple shell, too. Yours looks so much more delicious. I will have to make it very soon.