Thai Pineapple Fried-Rice with Shrimp

I made Thai Pineapple Fried Rice on July 4th along with my Chili Cilantro Lime Kabobs and I just had a chance to post it today.
Pineapple fried-rice is basically made with the same basic ingredients of making regular fried-rice if you have ever made fried-rice before, EXCEPT, there are some few ingredients have been added to the dish which makes it distinguish from the regular fried-rice – pineapple (obviously and preferably fresh), curry powder, red bell pepper, and shallots.

I've learned that many people love this dish more than the regular fried-rice because of the sweetness from the pineapple and the tasty and distinctive flavor from the curry powder that made this dish so famous and fun to eat.  Be careful though when making this Thai pineapple fried-rice, because you might get addicted to it since it's very tasty-licious!

What you need:

2 cups leftover cooked rice (white or brown)
1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into bite size
1 cup shrimp, cooked
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 red onion or shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
2 eggs
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp sugar
1/3 cup toasted cashews, salted or unsalted
1/4 cup green onion, sliced
Cilantro leaves for garnish


How to:

- Heat up the oil in the sauté pan over medium-high heat
- Add garlic, red onion, and red bell pepper, stir-fry until fragrant about 2 minutes
- Crack the eggs directly into the pan, break them up and cook for a minute
- Add cooked rice, curry powder, soy sauce, sugar, pineapple, and cooked shrimp and stir-fry to incorporate all the flavors and then add toasted cashews and stir another 30 seconds, turn off the heat - sprinkle with sliced green onion and cilantro and serve immediately

Enjoy!

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Chili Cilantro Lime Shrimp Kabobs

In the past few days, the sound of the explosion from the fireworks was everywhere. And today is July 4th, and the explosion even bigger and louder making the cars alarms go off every single time of the blast. It makes me think to myself, “Burn baby burn, money is wicked. Let’s celebrate our freedom by burning that evil, the money we rarely have" ….sigh…. I am such a whiner! O_0

Anyhow, the weather in Los Angeles today is kind of weirdo. It’s cloudy and gloomy in the morning and a little bit chill...for me anyway. But the sun has finally arrived hours later. So, why not do some grilling? A hubby got some gorgeous shrimp the other day from the grocery store (have I ever mentioned that he loves grocery shopping?) along with some beautiful red and yellow bell peppers with the idea of shrimp kabobs. So, today is going to be the day for me to execute it.

There are so many recipes for marinating shrimp for grilling and I think all of them are great!   As for my marinating recipe below, I guarantee the juicy, tasty, a little hint of spicy and the sweetness from these shrimp kabobs.  The longer you let them marinate, the better the flavor.  The important fact of shrimp kabobs is not to overcook the shrimp; otherwise they will turn out to be too dry and rubbery which you really don’t want that to happen. So, when grilling the shrimp, as soon as they turn pink they are done!

What you need:
1 lb shrimp (16/20 ct.)
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chili flakes
1 fresh lime juice and zest
2 cloves garlic finely mined
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
Red onion, red and yellow bell pepper cut into 1-in square pieces
Bamboo skewers 

 

How to:

- whisk together canola oil, soy sauce, dried chili flake, lime juice and zest, garlic, and chopped cilantro to blend well, add shrimp and marinated in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes
- Onto the skewers, thread shrimp, red onion, red and yellow bell pepper whatever you like
- Grill the shrimp kabobs over medium-high about 5 minutes on each side or until the shrimp turns pink. Do not overcook

Enjoy!

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Thai Spicy Manila Clams in Roasted Chili Paste and Thai Basil

When I was on my way home from work the other day, I decided to stop at the Asian grocery store in China town to get something for dinner, and there I saw the gorgeous Manila clams plied up in the big tank calling my name, I could have sworn! So, I brought home 2 lbs of Manila clams for dinner to make my favorite dish, Stir-fried clams with roasted chili paste or as the Thais called it “Hoy lai pad num prik pao,” another popular Thai dish that I haven't had for a while.

Though, In Thailand, the clams using for this dish are much smaller in size and lighter in weight, I found that these big and meaty Manila clams have satisfied my hunger for this dish as much as the one I used to have in Thailand. Hoi lai pad num prik pao is very easy to make as long as you can find the two main “must-have” ingredients Num Prik Pao or roasted chili paste and Thai basil and then you are set!

 if I have to name a Thai dish that I missed the most, this would be it!

What you need:

2 lbs Manila clams

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1tsp sugar

3-4 Thai chili slightly mashed  or thinly sliced

2-3 tbsp roasted chili paste

1/2 cup Thai Basil leaves

1/2 cup red bell pepper

1/4 water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

How to:

- Add the oil into a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add garlic and fry to light golden brown

- Add the clams and stir for a few times, add roasted chili paste, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, water, and stir to incorporate all the flavor

 - Stir and let the clams cook for another 5 minutes (if using a lid to cover the sauté pan, it will cook faster) or until notice that all the clams are opened up

- Turn off the heat and add the Thai basil leave, stir to blend all together once more

- Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice

Enjoy!

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