Pineapple, Shrimp, and Chicken Fried Rice

My mother-in-law and I were able to go to some amazing cooking classes taught by a woman from our church who is from Vietnam and has married a Chinese man. They used to also own a Chinese restaurant a few years ago--so it was quite a treat to have her teach us how to make authentic, delicious Chinese food. I will be the first to admit (much to my husband's chagrin) that I am not always a huge fan of Chinese food. I'm rather picky about it and can't do the whole buffet or fast-food Chinese food genre. I only like it when it is fresh and high-quality (I know, I know...I'm probably crazy)--which usually translates to an expensive Chinese restaurant and so we don't do it very frequently. I also have to add the disclaimer that fried rice is probably my least favorite...

That being said--the food she taught us to make was amazing! I'll have to also post her homemade potstickers on here, too. They will blow you away! This rice is so, so, so good! And coming from me--that is saying a lot (as I just described). It doesn't have the overwhelming soy sauce and eggy taste that fried rice characteristically (at least to me) has. It has the perfect amount of sweet and salty with the pineapple and raisins and subtle Chinese flavors. I know it sounds really strange probably. But trust me when I say that it is awesome! I also loved the crunch of the cashews. The flavors meld together perfectly and make for one memorable fried rice. It was also surprisingly easy to put together--so don't be discouraged by the long list of ingredients.

Pineapple, Shrimp, Chicken Fried Rice from Na Chao

6 shelled shrimp (we omitted this...my daughter's allergic)

1 C chicken breast

2 C cooked rice

1/2 C fresh or canned pineapple pieces

1/4 C cashew nuts (we used more)

1 T chopped green onions

1/2 C frozen peas and carrots (we just used shredded carrots)

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 T raisins

*We also added about 3/4 C chopped celery

A.

1 T soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp sugar

dash of pepper

B.

1/4 tsp sugar

a dash of garlic salt powder

1/4 tsp sesame oil

C.

1/4 tsp chicken bouillon powder (I just broke apart a bouillon cube)

1 T soy sauce

dash of black pepper

D.
2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

dash of black pepper

Directions:

-Peel off the shrimp shell. Then devein the shrimp and rinse and drain. Mix and B and marinate for 1/2 hour before frying.

-Cut the chicken breast into small bite size pieces and mix with A.

-Heat 2 T oil and 1 tsp garlic then stir-fry the chicken until no longer pink. Then set aside.

-Heat 2 T oil and stir fry the shrimp until the color changes. Add rice, pineapple, green peas and carrots, and D. Stir fry until slightly solid. Then add C. Stir fry to mix. Serve.

Tips: We did 3 chicken breasts since we had omitted the shrimp and it tasted great. You could get creative and add other vegetables that you might like. But the combo of the vegetables she has in this recipe are fantastic.