Pineapple beef is a delicious and simple Cantonese (Chinese) dish.  We order this often at Magic Wok – one of our favourite restaurants in Markham, ON.  But it’s really easy to make at home; you just need a very good quality, ripe pineapple.  I made this dish again recently using an organic pineapple and my family and I agreed that it was the best pineapple we had ever had, and it made this dish incredibly tasty.  If you carve a pineapple boat (which is also really easy to do), this is the perfect dish to serve to guests.  Note that the pineapple bowl looks prettier if you keep the leaves on, but I was in too much of a rush when I was making this.  Just be careful when you’re cutting through the stem because it can be tricky and the leaves are sharp.  If you want more colour in this dish, you could cut half of a green pepper and half of a red pepper into chunks and add them to the wok shortly after you’ve started cooking the beef.

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This is incredibly easy to make and tastes just like the siu yuk (roast pork belly) that you buy at the Chinese restaurants and grocery stores.  I suggest buying the meat from an Asian grocery store because it is much much cheaper there.  Make sure you buy the boneless pork belly with the skin/rind on.  Pork side also works.  You want to choose a cut of meat that has an even thickness so that the rind cooks evenly, otherwise sections of the skin will burn.  But if this happens you can always scrape the burnt parts off with a knife before serving.  I tested three different methods of making crispy siu yuk.  The simplest method involved brushing oil onto the rind prior to baking; the second method involved brushing the skin with vinegar before drying it out in the fridge; and the third method involved scalding the rind with vinegar and boiling water prior to refrigeration.  From my experience, the rind that had been brushed with vinegar crackled the soonest.  Scalding the rind resulted in a very crunchy, but tough, skin.  I have posted the method that, in my opinion, was the best.

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This dish is called three cups because it is traditionally made with equal proportions of three main ingredients: soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine.  It is a one pot dish that is flavourful and very easy to make.  Although the authentic version has thai basil in it, I have also made this dish without it and it still tastes great.

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