THAI STIR FRIED RICE AND PINEAPPLE

1 pineapple
2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped shallots
1 to 2 tablespoons grated ginger
4 to 5 jalapeno peppers
2 spring onions, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped coriander or cilantro
2 tablespoons dried shrimp
2 to 3 tablespoons garlic, coarsely chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups of cold, steamed Thai jasmine rice and coriander leaves as garnish

Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and scoop out the fruit, then chop it into bite sized chunks. Put the fruit in a bowl and add the shallots, jalapeno, ginger, scallion and coriander, mix and set aside. Add a pinch of salt to bring out the juice. In a wok, heat about a tablespoon of oil and stir fry the shrimp until crispy and the oil is aromatic. Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and drain, then set aside. Add a further tablespoon of oil and stir fry the garlic until golden brown. Add the rice and stir thoroughly. Add the fish sauce and sugar and continue stirring. When the rice is heated through, add the pineapple mixture and cooked shrimp and stir until thoroughly heated through. Pour the mixture into the pineapple shells, garnish and serve. If you prefer fried rice to be darkish brown in color, then replace half the fish sauce with dark sweet soy sauce.

Variation: do not cook the fruit mixture. Instead put the fruit mixture and the stir fried rice in the fridge separately and chill all the ingredients. Just before serving mix them and put them in the pineapple skins. If you are serving cold then you can also add a few maraschino cherries as garnish. This cold variant makes an excellent counterpoint to hot curries and spicy chilli dishes on a hot day.