Thai Pineapple Fried Rice Recipe (Khao Pad Sapparod)

Rice is truly a well-loved staple food in Thailand, so much so that the locals are more likely to ask ‘gin khao yung’ which translates to ‘have you eaten rice yet?’ rather than asking someone if they have eaten. With that, fried rice is not uncommon as an everyday street food in Thailand and many other Asian countries and Pineapple Fried Rice is just a variation of this well loved cuisine. Pineapples are an abundant fruit in Thailand, with the country being one of the largest producers of pineapples across the world alongside other South and South-East Asian countries including India, The Philippines and Indonesia.

Pineapple Fried Rice is known as Khao Pad Sapparod in Thai and what makes Thai pineapple fried rice different from other Asian fried rice is the use of fish sauce or Nam Pla. Fish sauce is generally an essential ingredient in Thai cooking and in fried rice, brings out the authentic Thai taste and aroma to the dish. Much like many other Thai recipes, Khao Pad Sapparod also specifically uses jasmine rice which is perfect for soaking up the lovely flavours and adding the classic subtle jasmine fragrance.

Our recipe includes shrimp paste to help the other spices infuse into the chicken and enhance the flavours of the fish sauce. The chicken can also be replaced with a substitute protein such as shrimp, or pork. To make this recipe vegetarian, swap the chicken for a vegetarian alternative and use the Thai Taste vegetarian fish sauce instead.

A balance of sweet, fruity and mildly spicy flavours, our Thai pineapple fried rice recipe is most impressive when served from a freshly prepared hollowed-out pineapple bowl. If you have them to hand, you can also throw in some cashew nuts for an additional crunchy texture!