8 large Shrimp (leave 4 whole, and cut the rest into small pieces)
1 egg
250 grams of cooked rice, about 1.5 cups
¼ cup small diced onions
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
¼ tsp White pepper
½ cup fresh Pineapple, cut into small pieces
⅓ cup toasted cashews, unsalted
2 green onions, chopped
½ cup tomatoes, seeds removed, cut into half-inch cubes
Cucumber slices for serving
Instructions
In a wok or a large frying pan, heat 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil until hot. Sear the whole shrimp until done; remove and set aside. In the same pan, add the small pieces of shrimp and cook until done; remove and set aside.
Add more oil to the wok if needed, then add the egg and scramble slightly. When the egg is half way cooked, add the rice and toss to mix. Add the diced onions and toss to mix. Add curry powder, white pepper, sugar, salt, soy sauce and fish sauce; toss until the rice grains are separated and the seasoning is well mixed. Add the pineapple, cashews, and small pieces of shrimp; toss until the pineapples start to darken slightly and the rice is dry. Turn off the heat and toss in tomatoes and green onions.
Garnish with whole cooked shrimp and more chopped green onions. Serve with crunchy cucumber slices.
We ended our Asia trip in Thailand, visiting friends who built an orphanage just outside of Bangkok for HIV positive children and have spent the last 20 years operating the joy-filled Abundant Life Home. Loving Thai women commit their lives to care for the children, each “house mom” raising her 6-8 children in a home-like setting. Taay supplements her income by painting and selling mortar and pestle sets, and I was thrilled to come home with my own Lepp Farm Market set. If only they weren’t so heavy, I would have filled my suitcase with them!
While I never used it for this dish, I’m so proud of my beautiful Thai souvenir that I had to show it to you.
This typical Thai dish is so quick and delicious, you should definitely double the recipe and have some amazing leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. Cook the rice and allow to cool, preferably in the fridge, before making this dish. It’s best to spread it out on a cookie sheet to cool so the rice doesn’t clump together. While curry is not typically used in Thai cooking, its Indian flavour combines perfectly with all the other ingredients. White pepper is used more frequently than black pepper in Asian cuisine, both for aesthetic reasons and because it seems to have a spicier, yet less biting, heat. You could chop up all the shrimp and add them all to the dish, but leaving some whole creates a beautiful presentation. This dish comes together really quickly once you start cooking, so make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go.
