I cook almost daily for my family of four so I’m always thinking of new recipes that would be appealing to all pallets in the house.  Hey, it’s not easy to create dishes that appeal to the taste buds of 30somethings, a 6 year old and a 1 year old.  Pineapple Beef is something that I’ve recently added to the rotation and everyone in our household loves it.  My mission is to expose my children to all types of foods and cuisines at a young age in hopes that as they grow they will be open to a wide range of foods. 

As a young child I was a very picky eater as most young children are, but my parents would cook a wide variety of dishes, not just Guyanese foods for us.   While my juvenile tastes buds rejected most foods, I do believe that it has contributed to my adventurous nature as an adult.  There’s rarely a dish I won’t try at least once.  I’ve eaten alligator at the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival, pepper snails in Nigeria, Fried Shark (not as adventurous as it seems to a Guyanese) and even labba when I was living in Linden, Guyana.  Some of these dishes have become a favorite while others I probably won’t try again but at least I tried something new and that how I want my children to be, open and willing. 

The first time that I made Pineapple Beef I quickly realized that my kids loved it.  It’s sweet and savory all at once – the pineapple juice, pineapple chunks and brown sugar make it sweet while the soy sauce and oyster sauce adds a nice savory touch.   There are two ways that this dish can be made, in the pressure cooker or stir fried.  Depending on the cut of beef that I’m using, that determines my method of cooking.   I sometimes pressure it if I’m using a tougher cut of beef such as chuck but will stir fry if using a tender cut such as rib eye.  Using the pressure cooker will take a bit longer but it is still a relatively quick and simply dish as all my dishes tend to be. 

 

Get the Recipe PINEAPPLE BEEF

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Ingredients
 

  • 1 ½ lbs thinly sliced beef
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp garlic
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • ½ red onion, sliced
  • 1 cup pineapple chunks
  • 1 ½ tsp oil
  • 2 scallion, cut into 2 inch pieces
  • ½ red bell pepper, sliced
  • Sauce:
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ½ cup pineapple juice
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions
 

  • Place beef in a bowl with soy sauce, garlic and brown sugar and mix to combine then set aside.
  • To make the sauce mix all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
  • Heat oil in a large pot over high heat then add beef and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
  • Remove from pan and set aside.
  • Add oil to the pan then stir fry red onion and pepper and cook for a minute. Add sauce and pineapple and cook until sauce begins to thicken, this just take about a minute or two.
  • Next add the cooked beef back to the pot and cook for a minute before removing from the stove. Toss in scallions, then serve.
Author: Jehan Powell