If you're looking for unique humor, delicious-looking food, and rampant cartoon sexualization, look no further than Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma. In this culinary fist fight, the owner of the oldest restaurant in Chinatown whips up a sweet and salty ensemble purported to have "advanced Chinese cuisine". Could pineapple fried rice possibly live up to the hype? Check out all 3 seasons of Food Wars! on Crunchyroll.

 

Ingredients

  • Dried Chinese chilis
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • 2 tsp cumin seed
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp peppercorns
  • 1 crushed cinnamon stick
  • 1 Tbsp grated ginger
  • 1 Tbsp grated turmeric
  • 2 cups short grain rice
  • 1 Pineapple
  • 2 eggs
  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 bird’s eye chili (optional)
  • 1 crushed clove of garlic
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • Green onions
  • Chopped cashews

Method

  1. First we are going to toast and grind our spice mixture. In a saucepan, combine a few chinese chilis, 1 tsp coriander seed, 1 tsp cardamom, 2 tsp cumin seed, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 crushed cinnamon stick, and 1 tsp peppercorns. Cook over high heat until fragrant and slightly smoking, and then add to spice grinder, grind, and set aside.
  2. Next add 2 cups of short grain rice and 4 cups of water to a pan that you’re going to cover tightly and place in a 325°F for 5 minutes longer than the specified boiling time. Once cooked, spread rice on a baking sheet to cool for an hour.
  3. Prep all of your accoutrements. Chop your red peppers, carrots, green onions, chopped cashews, and bird’s eye chili.
  4. Slice pineapple in half. Place a cut skin deep around the pineapple and score at 2 cm wide intervals, and scoop out into a bowl and set aside.
  5. In a wok, heat 3 Tbsp of vegetable oil over maximum heat. Add 2 beaten eggs to the wok and cook until just barely set and then add your chopped red pepper, carrot, and bird’s eye chili. Add 1 Tbsp grated ginger, 1 Tbsp grated turmeric, and 1 crushed clove of garlic. Give it a good mix before adding all of the rice.
  6. Next add a little bit of our spice powder, some kosher salt, 1 Tbsp each of rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, and soy sauce.
  7. Stir and continue to cook over a high heat before adding pineapple. Add some chopped green onions and some chopped cashews.
  8. Make sure that you slightly undercook the rice because we’re going to steam cook it a little bit more in our hollowed out pineapple.
  9. Salt both sides of your pineapple.
  10. Fill one half of the pineapple with all of the rice, and form it into a mound. Cover with the other side of the pineapple and place in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes.
  11. Generously butter a bowl.
  12. Take the pineapple out of the oven and scoop rice into buttered bowl. Place a plate upside down on top of the bowl, and while holding the bowl and plate, flip over so the plate is on the bottom and the bowl is on top. Lay the Pineapple stem at the top for aesthetics. Dig in and enjoy!