Nyonya Style Pineapple In Coconut Gravy @ Gulai Nenas Nyonya 娘惹鳳梨

A couple days ago, a friend gave me two half raw pineapples but till now the pineapples still tasting sour. No good at all ! And the first thing came to my mind was this nyonya style pineapple. Nyonya & Baba is also called as Peranakan Chinese. (click to read more regarding nyonya cusine & the history of nyonya & baba)  Most nyonya cooking contains of lots of spices and special ingredients such as preserved soy beans, buah keras (candle nuts), belacan (shrimp paste), asam (tamarind juice) and more. Nyonya heritage is not only famous in all kinds of cooking and also very famous with its own designated kuih-muih, such as ang ku kuih, kuih talam, kaya jam, bubur cha cha and more.

And here's what I did with the pineapple.
Ingredients :
2  small pineapple, skinned & cut into medium chunks
2  cinnamon sticks
4  pcs  cloves
4  pcs  asam slices / tamarind peel
3 stalks  lemongrass, use only the head
250ml   thick coconut milk
1-1/2  cups  water
1 tspn   salt (adjust to your personal taste)
2 TB   sugar (to your taste)

Ingredients blended paste :
30gm  dried red chilies, soaked with warm water till soft
5  shallots, skinned & sliced
6  cloves of garlic, skinned
1 inche  ginger, sliced
2  buah keras / candlenuts
1 stalk lemongrass, use only the head & sliced
20gm   shrimp paste (belacan)

Method  : 
(1) preheat wok then add in 1/2 cup cooking oil, saute lemongrass, cloves & cinnamon sticks till fragrant.
(2) then add in blended paste and continue cooking till fragrant and the chili paste turned into darker colour.
(3) next, add in water & coconut milk and bring it to boil.
(4) now, add in pineapple and let to cook for about 20 minutes or till slightly soft then its all ready to serve.

I ended up cooking one big wok. I kept some for myself and gave away the rest. This nyonya style pineapple can be stored in the fridge for days and reheat it whenever you like. Or maybe you want to add in big prawns later days. haha....  Enjoy !