Prawns and pineapple curry is another very popular Nonya (Peranakan) cuisine, fusion of Chinese and Malay cuisines. Peranakan are people whose ancestors were the initial Chinese migrants who inhabited in the states of Penang and Melaka in Malaysia and Singapore. Intermarriages between these Chinese migrants and local Malays created Nonya cooking, a combination of Chinese ingredients with various spices and cooking methods used by the Malay people. Nonya prawns and pineapple curry is very mouth-watering, with a sweet, sour and spicy taste from the prawns cooked in pineapple, chillies spice paste, assam (tamarind) and coconut milk. This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free, egg free and nut free.
Pineapples (Ananas comosus) belong to the Bromeliaceae family and originated from South America. Christopher Columbus discovered pineapples in 1493 in one of his expedition to South America and brought them back to Europe. They can only be cultivated in tropical climate and are now commercially grown in countries like China, Philippines, Thailand, Queensland, Africa, Hawaii, Brazil and Mexico. Pineapples were regarded as an indulgent and exotic fruit, but they are currently available in supermarkets and homes, all year round throughout the world. They are considered one of the most popular tropical fruits enjoyed by many.
Pineapples are sweet, juicy, yellow in colour and very aromatic in taste. They are bursting with defensive phytonutrients, antioxidant Vitamin C and protein processing enzyme called bromelain. They are not only extremely high in Vitamin C, but also an excellent source of manganese and copper. In addition, pineapples are also a good source of copper, vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), vitamin B1 (Thiamine), fiber, vitamin B9 (folate/folic acid) and vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid). Health benefits of pineapples include: may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and macular degeneration, support healthy skin and hair, promotes joint health by reducing inflammation, may reduce cancerous tumour growth, reduce common cold and flu inflammation, decrease excessive coagulation of blood and aid in digestion.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 kg 2.2Ib large fresh king prawns shelled, deveined and tails intact
- 1 1.2kg/2.65Ib large topless pineapple (550g/19.4oz of pineapple flesh)
- 2 medium Truss tomatoes diced into 2cm pieces
- 60 g/2oz Tamarind puree or tamarind paste
- 400 ml gluten free light coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon Stevia or raw brown sugar or to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- Steamed rice or turmeric rice to serve
For the spice paste:
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 small brown onion cut into wedges
- 4 long fresh red chillies deseeded and cut into 3 cm pieces
- 10 small dried red chillies deseeded
- 5 kaffir lime leaves stems removed and leaves finely sliced
- 3 cm piece fresh galangal peeled and finely sliced
- 3 cm piece fresh ginger peeled and finely sliced
- 2 cm piece fresh turmeric peeled and finely sliced or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 stem lemon grass white part only, finely sliced
For the Garnish:
- Fresh mint leaves optional
Instructions
- Peel and remove cores of pineapples and roughly cut into small 3cm triangle pieces. Set aside.
- Add the ingredients for the spice paste into a food processor and blend until you get a smooth paste. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle if preferred.
- Heat up 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a wok and add the spice paste and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until aromatic on medium heat.
- Add the assam (tamarind) puree or paste and tomatoes to the wok and stir-fry for another 2 minutes on medium heat.
- Then add in all the coconut milk, sugar and salt and stir and combine well and bring to a boil.
- Cook the prawns in the sauce on low to medium heat for 2 minutes on each side or until prawns are just cooked. Stirring the sauce occasionally to ensure its not sticking at the bottom. Remove the prawns and set aside.
- Add the pineapple pieces to the wok and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat.
- Return the prawns to the wok and stir and combine for another 2 minutes on medium heat.
- Serve together with steamed rice or turmeric rice.
Notes
THis sounds so lovely and zingy with the pineapple. And amazing with your turmeric rice!
The zesty pineapple and prawns in coconut curry is simply perfect with turmeric rice. 🙂
I love, love prawn curry but I’ve never tried it with pineapple before. Love to try this! 😛
I adore prawn curry too. This combo of prawns and pineapple curry is unique and will really tempt your taste buds. 🙂