Chicken Pineapple Fried Rice. Flavor packed chicken fried rice with juicy pineapple chunks! Ready in 30 minutes with leftover rice.
If you have leftover rice this is the perfect rice recipe for a busy weeknight meal.
Ready in 30 minutes!
The delicious flavor from the sweet pineapple balances out the savory chicken. It's a family favorite that comes together in less than 30 minutes with day-old rice.
Great as a side or main
This is one of those great recipe ideas that serves well as a main dish or side dish to some tasty protein and vegetables.. A great way to use up any leftover white rice or brown rice that you have sitting in the fridge. The whole family will enjoy this dish. It serves well as a complete meal thanks to the protein, veggies and pineapple pieces.
History of this dish
Chicken pineapple fried rice is a popular Thai food. There is belief that the dish came from the Chinese people in Thailand. Thai people have their own way of enjoying this dish and it can come in different varieties depending on the ingredients.
It's commonly served in a fresh pineapple boat or pineapple bowl for presentation at the Thai restaurant but are going to keep things easy. I will share simple steps on how to make thai chicken pineapple fried rice.
Pineapple is a wonderful ingredient that is used in many Thai dishes for its sweet flavor that offers a tropical twist! It's a tasty fruit that is also rich in bromelain which is a natural digestive enzyme!
Ingredients
You'll need the below ingredients to make thai pineapple fried rice. Please scroll down to the bottom for the Recipe card for full measurements.
- Jasmine rice: Thai jasmine rice works the best for this Thai pineapple fried rice. You may of course substitute with any long grain white rice or brown rice. I suggest cooking the rice the night before. I use a rice cooker but you can cook it how you would normally do. Then spread hot rice on a baking sheet to cool in the fridge, uncovered. On the day of cooking, break the rice up with your hands before frying.
- Chicken: I recommend using boneless skinless chicken thighs but you can also substitute with chicken breast.
- Pineapple: feel free to use fresh whole pineapple or canned pineapple. If you're using canned pineapple, look for the kind that has already been diced. If you're using fresh, make sure it's a ripe pineapple. The pineapple should be mostly yellow with some green marbling through it. If it's all green, it's not ripe yet. You can also check by smelling the fruit, if it's ripe it will smell sweet versus a non-ripe one.
- Frozen mixed vegetables: This can include peas, carrots, corn and green beans. You can really substitute with any vegetable you'd like, like broccoli. Just make sure they're cut up into small pieces.
Aromatics
- Yellow onion: for that sharp aroma! If you don't have yellow onion, white onion works fine too. If you can't find this common ingredient, you can substitute with green onions.
- Garlic: to give this main course a garlicky taste and flavor. If you don't have fresh garlic, the jarred kind works too or you can add some garlic powder.
Seasoning
- Regular soy sauce: Just your regular all purpose soy sauce. You can use low-sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce but please add to taste as light soy sauce is saltier than the regular kind. I wouldn't suggest using dark soy sauce as it won't be salty enough.
- Fish sauce: To give this rice dish an umami flavor. Most Asian grocery stores, Western grocers or online retailers like Amazon, will carry this ingredient. If you can't find it, substitute with a bit of oyster sauce.
- Black pepper: You can also replace with white pepper
- Avocado oil: or any neutral tasting oil like vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, or canola oil. I would not suggest sesame oil as that's usually a finishing oil which you can add at the end.
Marinade for chicken:
- Regular soy sauce
- Cornstarch: to help add moisture to the chicken
- Sesame oil: to flavor and moisten the chicken.
- Salt: To season the chicken
- Black pepper: To season the chicken
How to Make Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice
Please scroll down to the bottom for the Recipe card for full details.
- Pre-cook rice according to package instructions. If you're using day old rice, break up the rice with your hands. Set aside.
- Pat dry chicken thighs with paper towels and slice thinly. Transfer chicken to a medium bowl. Season chicken with soy sauce, sesame oil, corn starch, salt, and black pepper.
- In a hot wok or non-stick large skillet set on medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of oil. Sauté garlic and onions until fragrant. Next, add in sliced chicken and cook until 70% cooked.
- Add in rice and fry until the rice is steaming. Add in soy sauce, fish sauce, salt and black pepper and toss.
- Sweep everything to the side and add rinsed frozen veggies into empty space and cook for 30 - 60 seconds. Then mix in with rice.
- Sweep everything to the side and add pineapple to cook for 1-2 minutes until any liquid has evaporated and toss in with the rice.
- If needed, turn heat down to low and allow the moisture from the veggies and pineapple to evaporate. Careful not to over-mix as this may soften the texture of your rice. Serve hot and enjoy!
Other mix-ins or toppings:
- Scrambled eggs
- Broccoli
- Diced carrots
- Peas
- Corn
- Red bell peppers
- Red pepper powder for a spicy version
- Chili garlic sauce to make it spicy
- Chili oil to crank up the spice
- Curry powder
FAQ
Is it best to use fresh rice or leftover cold rice?
This is a long debated question as some cooks will tell you to use day old rice and some that work at the restaurant will say to use fresh rice.
But in my experience, I find that day old rice works best to create fluffy rice with separated grains. If you use fresh rice, it will likely clump together and stick to your wok, if you're not using super high heat so I would suggest either smoking the hot wok until it becomes non stick or use a non-stick skillet.
If you're using fresh rice, my tip is to actually spread the cooked rice with oiled hands on a baking sheet to cool down. Then pop it into the freezer uncovered for 60 minutes. This will help dry out the rice and you can fry it the same day versus waiting to fry it next day. This is one the most important tips when it comes to making great fried rice with fresh rice in my opinion.
Why do you add sesame oil to your chicken?
This helps to flavor the chicken and also creates moisture in the chicken.
Other related recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed this chicken pineapple fried rice, you may like these other fried rice recipes:
- Chinese Chicken Fried Rice
- Kimchi Sausage Fried Rice
- Kimchi Egg Fried Rice
- Pineapple Egg Fried Rice
- Egg Tofu Fried Rice
*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Chicken Pineapple Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice or 6 cups cooked rice
- 2.5 cups frozen mixed vegetables peas, carrots, corn and green beans, rinse with warm water and drain
- 2-3 cups pineapple diced, fresh or canned can be used
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 yellow onion or white onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 3 tablespoon regular soy sauce not dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon fish sauce or sub with oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil for cooking
Marinade for chicken:
- 2 teaspoon regular soy sauce not dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil optional
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ black pepper
Instructions
- Pre-cook rice according to package instructions. Tip: to prevent rice from clumping in the pan, I suggest spreading cooked rice with oiled hands on a baking sheet to cool. Pop baking sheet into freezer for 45-60 minutes to completely dry. Then when you're ready to cook, break rice up with hands. This will create a fluffier fried rice as the grains will be more separated. If you're using leftover cooked rice, break up the rice with your hands.
- Meanwhile marinade chicken in soy sauce, sesame oil, corn starch, salt, and black pepper.
- In a hot wok or non-stick large skillet set on medium-high heat, add avocado oil. Sauté garlic and onions until fragrant. Next, add in sliced chicken and cook until 70% cooked.
- Add in rice and fry until the rice is steaming. Add in soy sauce, fish sauce, salt and black pepper and toss.
- Sweep everything to the side and add rinsed frozen veggies into empty space and cook for 30 - 60 seconds. Then mix in with rice.
- Sweep everything to the side and add pineapple to cook for 1-2 minutes until any liquid has evaporated and toss in with the rice.
- If needed, turn heat down to low and allow the moisture from the veggies and pineapple to evaporate. Careful not to over-mix as this may soften the texture of your rice. Serve hot and enjoy!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
I made this for dinner a few weeks ago. SO yummy!! I did sub the chicken with pork, but otherwise followed the recipe. My whole family loved it!
Linda
This was so delicious! I found this recipe off Pinterest and I was so happy with how it turned out.
Leesa
What is the serving size?
christieathome
This serves about 4 people and serving sizes can be found in my Recipe card under the Description.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
The pineapple gives your fried rice such a fun tropical twist. If I don't make it to Hawaii, this would be the next best thing!