Pineapple Archives • Mushroompride

Duck in Pineapple Thai Curry (Kaeng Phed Ped Yang) – Delishar

I’m currently in the USA now, spending time with the husband’s family. It has been really liberating to be disconnected from technology during my time away. No wifi, no mobile data, no computers, and no ipad. But at the same time, I miss blogging, interacting with readers like yourself, and creating in my kitchen.

My mother-in-law has been more than generous with sharing her kitchen space with me, and I’m grateful for that. I’m also appreciative that I get to not worry about what to make in the kitchen, and get fed good food by good people. 🙂

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Before I left for our annual visit to the USA, I made this amazing Thai red curry with pineapple and duck. I love duck by the way, if I can have it everyday, I probably would. And by now, you would have realised that I love Thai food as well, so this was a perfect combination. Hot, sweet, slightly sour from the pineapples, and loaded with gorgeous aromatic Thai spices in this glorious thick curry over delicious roast duck breast. Oh my yum!

I would have used cherry tomatoes if not for the husband. He doesn’t like those sweet-juicy-mouth-bursting little babies. He finds it explicit that I describe it that way. Oh well. But I’d highly recommend that you use cherry tomatoes instead of regular tomato like I did. Visually it’ll be much more appealing too.

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Duck in Pineapple Thai Curry (Kaeng Phed Ped Yang)

1/3 cup coconut cream
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste more if you want it spicy
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 to mato wedges or 6 cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh pineapples cubed
200 g roasted or smoked duck meat sliced
Juice of 1/2 lime
Fish sauce to taste
Brown sugar to taste
Handful of fresh basil

In a pot, combined coconut oil, coconut cream, and curry paste over medium heat.
Cook until coconut oil starts to separate, about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Pour in coconut milk, tomatoes, and pineapple.
Bring to a simmer, then add duck meat.
Allow to simmer until duck is heated through.
Season with fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice.
Remove from heat, and stir in fresh basil leaves.
Serve immediately with steamed white rice.

Adapted from Simple Thai Food

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Braised Pineapple Pork Ribs – Delishar

As I was browsing the internet for recipes and inspiration to cook my rack of ribs, this Filipino recipe caught my eye. Perhaps it was because it is something different, unlike the usual oven roasted ribs or soup. Or maybe because it was the pineapples used in the recipe that intrigued me. Nonetheless, I knew I had to give it a go, in order to know what the recipe is like.

Knowing that the recipe calls for pineapples and pineapple juice, I know the sauce is going to reduce into a glaze like consistency. I can expect sweetness and tangy-ness from the pineapples, the acid in the juice and the time used to braise the meat ensures that the ribs are going to be fall off the bone tender and succulent. The starch in the potatoes helped to thicken the sauce a little more, and at the same time soak up all the goodness in the gravy. This dish itself is substantial enough on it’s own when served over steamed rice.

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Braised Pineapple Pork Ribs

Delishar

1 kg baby back ribs membrane removed and cut into individual ribs
1 potato peeled and cubed
1 small yellow onion cut into wedges
4 cloves garlic lightly smashed
1 inch thumb ginger grated
1 cup pineapple juice
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup cubed pineapples
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/2 tsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil
Water as needed
Chopped spring onions to garnish

Heat pan over medium high heat and add oil.
Cook potatoes until golden, then remove from pan, and set aside.
In the same pan, saute onion and garlic until soft and fragrant.
Add ribs to pan and lightly brown ribs.
Pour in ginger, pineapple juice, soy sauce, pineapple cubes, brown sugar, and chicken stock.
Stir to combine, and bring to boil.
Lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender, adding some water if needed.
In the last 15 minutes of cooking, add in cubed potatoes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
When done, remove from heat and garnish with chopped spring onions.

Pineapple Braised Ribs

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Spiced Chicken Wrap with Pineapple Salsa – Delishar

Day 14! We are at the half way mark! Based on the Whole 30 timeline, we should be over the worst and should be feeling boundless energy (tiger blood) at some point. Neither the husband nor I am at that point yet. Then again, some people might never get to the point of tiger blood. We still crave for certain food. I was really craving a warm glass of milk last night. Just sometime soothing other than water or chamomile tea. So sick of that.

The husband has yet to slay that sugar demon of his, and I’m not sure if he would ever. Whenever he craved something sweet, he would have a fruit or nibble on dates. Yesterday, he played an hour of baseball out in the sun and justified that he needed to quench his thirst by drinking fresh coconut juice.

He has been quite the grump too. Perhaps due to the lack of energy, sugar, and simple carbs. Withdrawal, I’m sure. I hope it’ll pass soon. However, the husband has lost quite a significant amount of weight. Not sure how much, but I can feel the difference when I hug him, hold his arm, or rub his belly when I sleep. I now call him ‘Stick-Man’.

Made this meal on Day 7. This is by far our favourite meal. The girls even gave their stamp of approval. The spice rub on the chicken was AMAZING! And that sweetness from the pineapple was just what the slighly tangy chicken needed. It was a match made in heaven.

I had some left-over chicken and salsa that night. The next day, I tore up some lettuce, heat up the chicken, threw the salsa over the lettuce, and shredded the chicken over it all. Made myself a spiced chicken salad. We are having a little get together with a couple of families over Easter. It’s a pot-luck party, and I’m going to bring this as our contribution. I am pretty confident that it is going to be a crowd pleaser. 🙂

Some readers have asked me to share my meal plan, so here is my week 1 meal plan. If you are planning your whole 30 journey, I hope this meal plan will come in handy for you. Let’s get to the recipe, shall we?

Spiced Chicken Wrap with Pineapple Salsa

Delishar

Spiced Chicken

4 chicken breasts half it to get 2 thinner pieces
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp carob powder optional
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp olive oil

Pineapple Salsa

1 red pepper diced
1/2 pineapple diced
2 shallot minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp cumin powder
salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or olive oil

To serve

1 head romaine lettuce cored, rinse, and dried

In a bowl, mix in all the spices, lime zest, lime juice, and olive oil.
Place chicken into a zip lock bag or container, and pour spice mix over chicken.
Use your hands to rub the spice mix all over the chicken.
Marinate for 30 minutes or over night.
Bring to room temperature before pan frying.
Grease cooking pan placed over medium high heat.
Pan fry chicken for about 2 minutes each side or until nicely browned. Do it in batches.
Allow chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing into it.

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Pineapple Cauliflower Fried ‘Rice’ (Whole 30, Paleo) – Delishar

Day 17 of Whole 30. Still, no tiger blood. Perhaps, I’m just one of those who will never get it. That would kind of suck, because I could really use that burst of energy. The husband’s energy level has been pretty low as well. He mentioned that he felt slightly light-headed when he was playing at the softball field over the weekend. This could be due to the body working extra hard to convert reserved fats in the body into energy rather than feeding off the refined sugar & simple carbs that a regular diet would have.

He also broke one rule and stepped on the scale on Sunday. I honestly don’t think that’s a make or break and have to restart the whole program. But he did tell me that he lost 4kg! His biggest fight is with his sugar dragon. I’m not sure if he would ever be able to slay that dragon. He snacks on a date and fruits whenever he feels the need for something sweet. Still better than him eating chocolate, or cake. Other than that, he has been really good about the diet. I’m very proud of him!

One thing I miss most is Asian food. You know, rice with several dishes laid out on the table. I miss Thai food too, so I made this whole 30 variation of Thai Pineapple Fried Rice using cauliflower ‘rice’. I served it with a side of Thai Basil Beef Lettuce Wraps. It definitely satisfied my need for Asian food that night. 🙂

I honestly can’t wait for the diet to be over so I can go get some blood work done to see if my body chemistry changed. Believe it or not, my cholesterol level is borderline high, and I suffer from hypo hypothyroidism too. I tried eating bland soupy food, mainly soy, vegetables, and fish for 2 weeks and re-took the test, but it was still borderline high. Attributed it to genetics. Everyone in my family has that problem.

I’d be very surprised if I’m able to lose a couple of pounds with this diet given my under-active thyroid condition. My metabolism rate is pretty low, and I have been struggling with losing that extra 3-4kg to get to my ideal weight. During the re-introduction phase, I’ll get back to fitness routines as well which i’m sure will help burn the extra calories and help me feel better.

Thai Pineapple Fried Cauli-rice

Delishar

1 kg cauliflower cut into florets
1/2 pineapple chunks
12 large prawns peeled & cleaned
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 yellow onion diced
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 cup diced french beans
1/2 red pepper diced
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce if not whole30
1 tbsp fish sauce
Salt & black pepper to taste
3 tbsp coconut oil
Chopped spring onions to garnish
Sliced lime wedges to serve

Place cauliflower into food processor and process until you get rice like size.
Heat pan on medium high heat with 1 tbsp oil.
Season prawns with salt and black pepper.
Pan fry prawns until until cooked, about 1-2 minute each side.
Remove and set aside.
Add remaining 2 tbsp coconut oil into pan.
Stir-fry onions until soft and translucent, then add garlic to cook for 30 seconds.
Add french beans, carrot, and red pepper to cook for a minute.
Then add cauliflower rice.
Stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.
Season with turmeric powder, fish sauce, coconut aminos, black pepper, and salt to taste.
Create a well in the middle and pour in eggs.
Scramble until set and toss it together with cauli-rice.
Add pineapple chunks, and cooked prawns.
Add
Serve garnished with chopped spring onions, and a wedge of lime.