Fried rice stir-fried with ham, juicy pineapples, mixed vegetables in a light savory sauce. This quick and easy pineapple ham fried rice is ready in 30 minutes with simple ingredients. A great main dish for the whole family made easily in one pan.
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This pineapple ham fried rice features seasoned fluffy rice tossed with savory ham, sweet pineapple, frozen mixed vegetables, onions, and garlic.
It's a fantastic busy weeknight meal when you have leftover rice in the fridge. The sweet and savory flavors of the pineapple and ham are a match made in heaven!
This Asian fried rice is also known as Haiwaiian fried rice. The secret ingredient to making this taste delicious is not necessarily an ingredient but the natural browning of the fried rice from a hot wok or pan.
I love making this dish when I have fresh ripe pineapples that I need to use up but you can easily swap fresh pineapple for the canned kind.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Day old cooked jasmine rice: or sub with any white long grain rice. Avoid using basmati rice.
- Ham: or substitute with spam, sausages, bacon or sliced pork or chicken.
- Frozen mixed vegetables: that contain a mixture of corn, carrots, peas, and/or green beans.
- Fresh Ripe Pineapple: canned pineapple works well too! I don't recommend using the frozen kind as they're less sweeter in my experience and they come in larger pieces.
- Onion
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
- Green onions: for garnishing
Sauce
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Dark soy sauce: this is thicker and darker than regular soy sauce. But if you don’t have this, substitute with regular soy sauce.
- Unsalted butter: melted for even distribution
- Sugar: to balance out the salty flavors from the soy sauce
- Sesame oil: for that nutty flavor!
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients or check Amazon.
Best rice to use?
Use day old or leftover rice that has been sitting in the fridge. This is important if you want fluffy rice because the cold air removes excess moisture that is the leading factor to clumpy fried rice.
Also, choosing the right type of rice is equally important. I recommend jasmine rice or a long grain white rice.
Can I use same day cooked rice?
You may use same day warm cooked rice but it will create clumpy fried rice due to the excess moisture.
To fix this: Spread out the hot rice in a thin layer on a large baking sheet. Place it in the freezer for 45-60 minutes fully exposed. Then break up the rice with a rice paddle or clean hands moistened with neutral oil to prevent it from sticking.
Expert Tips
- Use cold leftover jasmine rice for best taste and texture. Cold rice is drier and contains less moisture resulting in fluffy fried rice.
- Breakup the cold rice with a rice paddle or with your hands. This exposes the grains and evenly toasts them in the pan.
- Rinse the frozen mixed vegetables and strain them. This helps speeds up the cooking process.
- Fry the pineapple until all liquids have evaporated in the pan as this can cause soggy fried rice.
- Use medium-high heat and continually stir fry the rice to avoid clumpy fried rice.
- Pour the sauce mixture along the edges of the pan and not directly over the rice. When the sauce hits a hot pan before the fried rice, it toasts the sauce giving the rice more umami flavor!
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat and fry ham until the edges of the ham are browned, about 1 minute.
- Next stir-fry the diced onion and fry until softened, about 45 seconds.
- Then toss in diced pineapple and fry until all the liquids in the pan have evaporated, about 2-3 minutes.
- Next add in your frozen mixed veggies and fry for about 1 minute until softened.
- Lastly add in broken up rice and pour sauce along the edges of the pan. Quickly toss everything until rice grains are colored brown.
- Remove and transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with chopped green onions.
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing pineapple ham fried rice as the vegetables will become mushy after reheating.
Pairing Suggestions
Pineapple ham fried rice serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- chow mein, or lo mein
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Mongolian Chicken, Cashew Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Bang Bang Shrimp, Soy Garlic Tofu, Chinese Braised Tofu and more!
FAQ
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
I use a rice cooker but you can also make your rice on the stovetop. Then I store the cooked rice covered lightly with plastic wrap on a large baking sheet in the fridge so the cold air can dry out the rice overnight.
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📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Pineapple Ham Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 4.5 cups cooked jasmine rice day old rice, broken up
- 0.75 lb ham diced (or substitute with spam, sausage, or bacon)
- 10.5 oz pineapple
- 1 ¾ cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 cup onion finely diced
- 2 teaspoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 1 green onion finely chopped for garnish
Sauce Mixture:
- 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¾ teaspoon white granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat and fry ham until the edges of the ham are browned, about 1 minute.
- Next stir-fry the diced onion and fry until softened, about 45 seconds.
- Then toss in diced pineapple and fry until all the liquids in the pan have evaporated, about 2-3 minutes.
- Next add in your frozen mixed veggies and fry for about 1 minute until softened.
- Lastly add in broken up rice and pour sauce along the edges of the pan. Quickly toss everything until rice grains are colored brown.
- Remove and transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with green onions.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
The pineapple and ham really do give your fried rice a fun, island style twist. This recipe of yours really makes me want to go to Hawaii again!
Rosemary
I'm literally transported right to Hawaii with this recipe!! Hopefully we can travel again soon hehe.