I love Asian food and stir frys, and I love cooking with pineapple. My Thai Pineapple Fried Rice remains one of my most favorite recipes of all time, fashioned after a dish in my favorite Thai restaurant.
When I was in the US, a stir fry was the most common item on the menu for weeknight dinners. It was quick and easy and super cheap with a packet of frozen stir fry vegetables. All you had to do was mix up a sauce (sometimes not even that), and either nuke it all for 3-4 minutes, or just fry it up in a wok. Now it’s not always possible to have mushrooms and broccoli and red pepper, or water chestnuts, and I many times make do with onion and capsicum, the mainstays of the Indo-Chinese cuisine.
This recipe for pineapple stir fry is certainly not Indo-Chinese, and is more a simple Asian or Teriyaki style stir fry. I am using canned pineapple and prefer it to fresh one here. It is certainly easier to use and might cost the same. You can use either fresh ginger or garlic or both. The pineapple adds a sweet and tart flavor at the same time, but you can add more sugar to balance out the sour kick from the vinegar.
I think this recipe is quick, easy and so simple even a novice can make it and get great results. Serve it with white or brown rice and you have a comforting bowl of healthy food you won’t get from your local Chinese takeout place.
This recipe of Pineapple Stir Fry makes 4 large servings.
Pineapple Stir Fry is a quick and easy vegan dish for weeknight dinners. So simple even a child can make it, this stir fry gives a sweet and spicy punch!
Ingredients
- 2 medium onions
- 2 medium bell peppers or capsicum
- 1 carrot
- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 4 slices pineapple
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1 pack or 200g extra firm tofu
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp cold pressed sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp brown sugar or palm sugar
- 1.5 Tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- ½ tsp white pepper
- Salt to taste
Method
- Cut the onion and bell pepper into similar sized chunks. Slice the carrots.
- Wash and drain tofu and cut into chunks like the onion. Set aside.
- Cut the canned pineapple slices into chunks. Reserve the juice.
- Combine pineapple juice, grated ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, chili flakes, pepper, corn starch and half cup water in a mixing cup. Whisk well so that there are no lumps.
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok.
- Add carrot slices and stir around for a minute on high heat.
- Add peppers and onions and stir to combine for a minute.
- Now add the cubed pineapple.
- Lastly add tofu chunks and lightly mix everything, continue stirring on high heat.
- Add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer until sauce thickens and gets a glaze from the corn starch.
- Taste and add salt and sugar if needed.
- Add the sesame oil – just a few drops for flavor – and switch off heat.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
