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Pineapple and Shrimp Fried Quinoa

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Pineapple and Shrimp Fried Quinoa
A tasty Thai style shrimp and pineapple fried rice made with quinoa.

Fried rice is one of those super quick and easy comfort food dishes that is always satisfying and I recently found myself wondering how quinoa would do in a fried rice dish. There are a lot of great fried rice dishes out there and my favourite has to be a Thai style pineapple and shrimp fried rice which is packed with amazing flavours and it seemed like the perfect candidate to be made with quinoa! I mean, you really cannot go wrong tossing some juicy, sweet and tangy pineapple along with succulent shrimp in some light and fluffy fried quinoa!
Although fried is often made with leftover rice, it is ok to make some fresh and if you are going to anyways, why not take the opportunity to add some flavour by making it with something other than water like broth or coconut milk? Once the quinoa is ready the dish starts out by cooking some shallots, garlic, ginger and mixing them into the quinoa along with an egg, the pineapple and shrimp. In typical Thai style this dish balances the salty, sour, spicy and sweet aspects nicely with fish sauce, lime juice, chilies and raisins. You can add pretty much any vegetables that you want and I went with some red pepper and peas for the colours before finishing the dish off with a healthy spoonful of curry powder! The pineapple and shrimp fried quinoa can be served in pineapple bowls and it is garnished with green onions and cilantro for freshness and chopped roasted peanuts for some crunch.

Pineapple and Shrimp Fried Quinoa
If you do not have a pineapple bowl it is great in a regular bowl as well!

Pineapple and Shrimp Fried Quinoa

Pineapple and Shrimp Fried Quinoa

Pineapple and Shrimp Fried Quinoa

Prep Time:10 minutes Cook Time:30 minutes Total Time:40 minutes Servings: 4

A tasty Thai style shrimp and pineapple fried rice made with quinoa.

ingredients
  • 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deviened (omit for vegetarian)
  • 2 shallots, diced
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
  • 2 bird eye chilies, sliced
  • 1/2 red pepper, diced
  • 1 cup pineapple, cut into small pieces
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten (omit for vegan)
  • 1/2 cup peas
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup peanuts or cashews
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce for vegetarian)
  • 1/2 lime, juice
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1 handful cilantro, chopped
directions
  1. Bring the quinoa, coconut milk and broth to a boil in a medium saucepan, reduce the heat and simmer covered until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
  2. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan over medium high heat.
  3. Add the shrimp, garlic, ginger, chilies, pepper and pineapple and saute until the shrimp is almost cooked, about 3 minutes.
  4. Add the egg and cook, stirring for a minute.
  5. Add the quinoa, peas, raisins, peanuts, curry powder and fish sauce and cook for 5 minutes.
  6. Taste test and remove from heat mixing in the lime juice, green onions and cilantro.
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Grilled Coconut and Pineapple Sweet Chili Shrimp Tacos
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  13. Anonymous says

    July 22, 2012 at 3:33 pm

    I love dishes that require ingredients that I normally keep on hand! This one sounds superb and really easy! Quinoa is so good and good for us! Thank you so much for your faithful experimentation with food!

    Reply

  16. Cara says

    July 23, 2012 at 1:34 pm

    Kevin, this sounds fantastic! What I like most is that it reminds me of this amazing dish I used to get in a restaurant in my college town, a curried chicken salad with raisins, peanuts and coconut! Love that you have all those flavors going on!

    Reply

  19. Rona says

    July 23, 2012 at 8:36 pm

    Just had to tell you – on Pinterest and looking at pins by Udi's (makers of gluten-free breads etc), and I'm like "Hey – I recognize that pic" and there was a link to your Pineapple & Shrimp-fried Quinoa. You get around, ya know! 🙂

    Reply

  23. Anonymous says

    February 12, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    I made this recently and it was very good. I added 4 yellow summer squash to stretch it and lower the calorie count per serving. Next time, I think I'll take the shrimp out earlier, or add it later, it was a bit tough being cooked for that long.

    Reply

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