I spent several years in Thaiiland in the 1960's and never encountered fried rice with pineapple. Since most of my time was spent on the east coast, from north to south, is this a dish found mostly in central and eastern portions of this beautiful country?
Sorry I missed this! It's not a super popular dish so it's not something you find "everywhere," but where it is found is mostly in the central region in my experience.
I'm wondering if the reason people assume pineapple fried rice is "tourist food" is the ubiquity of pineapple in the Americanized Chinese food of decades past? Particularly in "polynesian" restaurants and tiki bars, pineapple was *everywhere*.
I think that theory is highly likely, for sure! People start to question the authenticity of the pineapple if it's used enough in "westernized" dishes.
I spent several years in Thaiiland in the 1960's and never encountered fried rice with pineapple. Since most of my time was spent on the east coast, from north to south, is this a dish found mostly in central and eastern portions of this beautiful country?
Sorry I missed this! It's not a super popular dish so it's not something you find "everywhere," but where it is found is mostly in the central region in my experience.
I'm wondering if the reason people assume pineapple fried rice is "tourist food" is the ubiquity of pineapple in the Americanized Chinese food of decades past? Particularly in "polynesian" restaurants and tiki bars, pineapple was *everywhere*.
I think that theory is highly likely, for sure! People start to question the authenticity of the pineapple if it's used enough in "westernized" dishes.