Keto Pineapple Fried Rice with Konjac Rice (Only 208 Calories)

This pineapple fried rice recipe uses shirataki rice, otherwise known as konjac rice. Why, you ask. Why would you do such a thing to what is pretty much a perfect dish?

Because it’s such an easy substitute that instantly transforms the ever-delicious pineapple fried rice into a keto-friendly, paleo-friendly, and very low-calorie meal.

Plus, it just makes sense.

You see, shirataki rice is not the tastiest thing. Let’s be honest – we wouldn’t eat this stuff if we didn’t have to. But when combined with a sauce and other flavorful ingredients, it blends in beautifully, taking on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked with. And frying it makes it even better since it gets rid of excess moisture to give it a texture that’s remarkably similar to rice.

So if you’re doing keto, paleo or CICO, cooking with konjac rice is the easiest way to eat your favorite meals without cheating. It has zero digestible carbs and almost no calories. One 200 gram pouch of the stuff has just 18 calories. Another bonus? It’s very high in fiber.

The downside is that shirataki rice is pretty much void of nutrients. And that is the raison d’être for this pineapple fried rice: all the nutrition without the calories or extra carbs.

Simply combine the shirataki rice with all the yummy, nutrient-dense (and low-calorie) ingredients like pineapple and prawns and voila! You’ve got an amazingly filling and flavor-rich feels-like-a-cheat-meal that’s only 208 calories.

Pineapple Fried Shirataki Rice Ingredients

This recipe takes about 15 minutes to make from start to finish. There’s no need to cook any rice since you’ll be using konjac rice. To further speed it up, I also choose pre-cut pineapple, already peeled and deveined prawns, as well as minced garlic from a jar.

So I make no claims that this is the most authentic pineapple fried rice. But it is delicious, super quick and easy, high in nutrition and low in both calories and carbs.

So what do you need to make this pineapple fried shirataki rice? Here’s everything I used…

• 1 cup fresh pineapple
• 400 grams konjac rice (also called shirataki rice)
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped bell pepper, red, yellow, or orange
• 1 green onion
• 1 tbsp garlic (~ 3 cloves)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Chopped cilantro
• 1 lime

Pineapple

Pineapple is the star of this dish. It can make or break this recipe. For the best results, use fresh pineapple.

You can pick a ripe pineapple and cut it yourself, which has the added benefit of leaving you that impressive pineapple bowl to serve the fried rice in. But if you, like me, just want a quick and easy recipe (or just can’t be faffed to cut the spiky thing), buy it pre-cut. It costs a little more but saves a lot of prep time.

Plus, buying pre-cut pineapple means you can immediately spot the pineapple slices that are perfectly ripe. The best pineapple to use in pineapple fried rice is anything that’s between ripe to so-ripe-it’s-just-about-to-go-bad. To be honest, the closer to get to almost over-ripe, the yummier it is.

I always buy the pineapple slices that look like they’re right on the cusp. I know I’m playing a dangerous game but when I’m right, the extra sweetness is worth it.

To choose pre-cut pineapple at its best, look for a deep yellow color. If there’s a lot of juice in the pack and small bubbles forming, it’s already crossed over into pineapple heaven. If it’s light yellow, almost white – you can do better.

Konjac Rice

Konjac rice goes by many names. Shirataki rice, miracle rice, slim rice, skinny rice, and so on. But they’re all the same thing. They’re usually made from konjac, an obscure-until-now root vegetable. Some contain a little oat fibre or tapioca – I prefer the ones that have this as they hold their shape better.

I’m using the Slim Rice brand for this recipe. But there are a lot of decent brands like It’s Skinny Shirataki Rice and Yuho Konjac Rice. Experiment with a couple until you find the one that tastes and chews the closest to rice for you.

Shrimp

I’m using peeled, deveined, tail-on, and frozen prawns that I bought from Costco for this recipe. If you’re using frozen prawns as well, I recommend defrosting them.

If you have the time, you can stick the prawns you’ll be using in a Ziploc bag and place them in the fridge overnight.

Or you can do this 5-minute defrosting trick by placing the frozen prawns in a colander in the sink under cold running water. It’s quick and effective.

Eggs

The eggs that are scrambled into this recipe are fluffy and add yummy protein. BUT they are the highest-calorie ingredient in this recipe. Without them, this pineapple fried rice is just 154 calories per serving.

If you want the taste and can afford the calories, add them. If not, skip the step.

Veggies

For this recipe, I’m using onion because yum. As well as chopped bell pepper. The red, orange, and yellow varieties are sweeter so go with one or all of those instead of the slightly more bitter green bell pepper.

You can easily dice them into small pieces if you have a food chopper. If not, slice them into bite-sized pieces.

I also add 1 green onion (scallions) into the wok pretty early on for the extra flavor. Feel free to cut another one up for garnish when you’re done.

The Sauce

When it comes to making a pineapple fried rice with shirataki rice, I go a little heavier on the sauce than I usually do. That’s because the usual rice used to make pineapple fried rice is jasmine rice, which is fragrant and delicious on its own.

But shirataki rice doesn’t have that level of natural flavor. Luckily, it’ll take on the flavor of whatever it added to it, so let’s make sure the sauce is delish.

For ease and convenience, we’ll be mixing the sauce before we even heat up the wok. The sauce is:

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ½ teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt

If you don’t have fish sauce, just use soy sauce instead.

The Garnish

Cilantro and a couple squirts of lime juice don’t seem like a lot but they add a lot of flavor to this recipe. Use them in the end!

Oh, and you can’t go wrong with a dollop or two of sriracha sauce.

How to Make Pineapple Fried Rice

Once you heat up that wok, everything comes together really quickly. It’s a rapid fire process of add and stir that takes less than 10 minutes total. So have all the ingredients gathered before you start.

Ready to wok and roll? Here’s the process…

1. Rinse the Rice

Rinse the konjac rice well in a sieve. This is essential since konjac rice has a slightly fishy smell when you open the packet. It won’t taste like that once it’s rinsed and cooked. So rinse it well. Then set aside to drain.

2. Prepare the Sauce

Make the sauce by mixing 2 tsp fish sauce, 2 tsp soy sauce, ½ teaspoon curry powder, 1 tsp sugar, ¼ tsp salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Cook Pineapple and Veggies

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok or skillet at medium-high heat. I always use coconut oil for pineapple fried rice as I love the bit of extra flavor but you don’t have to. Add the pineapple, onion and bell peppers. Cook until the pineapple is a deeper yellow and the onion is translucent, for about 3 to 4 minutes.

You don’t need to stir much, try to let the heat do its job. This concentrated pre-warming makes the pineapple and onion more flavorful and sweeter. Only stir to avoid burning.

If you want to caramelize the pineapple and onion, feel free to leave it for a couple more minutes.

Add the garlic, and green onion and mix it in for about 1 minute until it’s soft and smells damn delicious.

4. Cook the Prawns

Add the prawns and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring well to coat the prawns with the garlic and green onions. The prawns should be mostly pink.

5. Fry the Eggs

Push everything to the sides of the wok and add the beaten eggs. Scramble for 1 minute until the eggs are mostly set but a little runny.

6. Rice and Sauce

Add the konjac rice and the sauce. Turn the heat to high and mix it all together, stirring and chopping the eggs into smaller pieces.

Stir fry for another minute or two to allow excess moisture in the konjac rice to evaporate.

7. Garnish and Serve

Turn off the heat and add lime juice, chopped cilantro, and garnish with more green onions, if you want. Serve immediately, with a little sriracha sauce if you want a bit of heat.

What to Do with Leftovers?

Here’s one wonderful thing about shirataki rice: it reheats really well. There’s no discernible difference in texture at all. So store any leftovers in an airtight container and leave it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To reheat, you can quickly sauté it or warm it in the microwave.

How Much Does it Cost to Make?

This pineapple fried rice recipe serves two. To make it, it cost me:

• £5.20 for 2 packs of Slim Rice
• £1.60 for about 250 grams of pineapple
• £3.60 for 10 prawns
• £0.18 for half an onion
• £0.25 for 1/2 cup bell peppers
• £0.43 for 2 eggs
• £0.10 for 1 green onion
• £0.22 for 1 lime

Around £11.58 ($14.73) in total, around £6 per serving. Not the cheapest but for such a nutrient-dense, low-calorie meal, not bad at all.

Modifications

This recipe is keto-friendly and paleo-friendly. It’s already very low in calories. But if you want more, here are a couple more modifications:

VEGAN: Substitute the prawns and eggs with tofu (firm or extra firm is best for this recipe) and more veggies, i.e. peas, carrots, as well as cashews and raisins for extra flavor. Substitute the fish sauce with soy sauce OR simply add another 1/2 tsp of curry powder, a little more garlic, and salt to taste.

LESS CALORIES: Without the eggs, this pineapple fried rice is just 154 calories per serving. Skip them if you want.

GLUTEN-FREE: Use a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari. Also make sure the fish sauce is gluten-free – some are and some aren’t.