Back at the recipe book today and excited to share a favorite with you. This version of fried rice is one that I’ve been exploring and experimenting with for the last six months. It’s become one of our “go-to meals” and it’s easy to mix up based on whatever you have in the fridge. Cauliflower Fried “Rice” is the perfect fit for most diets, it’s packed with flavor, and it’s pretty easy to make.
I haven’t been sharing recipes as much lately for a number of reasons (which may be silly). The kitchens we get to enjoy while traveling are usually cramped and have poor lighting, which is difficult for taking photos of the recipe creations. Additionally, we’ve been pretty lazy with how creative our meals have been recently. My partner is keto and I eat mostly vegan, so it’s hard to find things that work for both of us, other than stir- fry and curry.
Making Cauliflower Rice
This version of fried rice is something we enjoyed making pretty often, with quinoa as a substitute for rice. The vegetables used can vary a lot, as we just toss in whatever happens to be in the fridge. It’s quick, flavorful, and easy. However, with Connor doing keto (which means, no quinoa), we haven’t been making it as often.
That’s why I was so excited about having a blender in our first apartment in Chiang Mai, as I have been looking forward to trying the recipe again, but with cauliflower “rice.” I say was excited, because it turned out our blender wasn’t really conducive for finely chopping the cauliflower…
Making cauliflower “rice” is actually incredibly easy, if you have the right tools. I learned how to make mine from Minimalist Baker, who will walk you through it step by step. But really, all you need to do is cut the cauliflower up into sections and grate it. You can use a box grater or if you have a food processor at home, chop it up and then use the grater attachment.
You’ll be looking for fine size pieces, similar to rice. Cauliflower tends to hold a lot of moisture, so I’d highly recommend squeezing the cauliflower rice in paper towels or a cheese cloth to squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
Unfortunately, our tiny grater and blender didn’t work too well for us. We ended up finely chopping the cauliflower by hand, which was time consuming, but still turned out fine. (Do you remember us having to do the same thing with my nut meat recipe? The joys of travel.)
Once the cauliflower is ready to go, you can make the delicious fried rice.
Cauliflower Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3/4 cup snow peas, chopped
- 3/4 cup mushroom, diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1″ ginger, peeled and minced
- 3-5 small red peppers, finely chopped (or 1-2 ts chili powder)
- 1-2 tbs coconut oil
- 2 tbs soy sauce (or GF version)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Optional: 2-3 eggs
Directions
-
- Follow the instructions in the blog post for making the cauliflower rice or cook up quinoa or rice (about 2 cups once cooked).
- Using a large frying pan on medium-high heat, add the oil. Add the garlic, ginger, small peppers, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Allow the spices to become fragrant, for a few minutes. Add the onions.
- Once the onions are becoming translucent (usually 3-5 minutes), add the bell peppers, mushroom, and snow peas. Continue to cook until the pepper soften, adding any additional oil or soy sauce needed.
- Add the cauliflower, tossing everything together for a couple minutes. And done!
- Egg option: To add eggs, grab a separate pan and add some oil. Whisk 2-3 eggs and scramble them in the pan. Add the scrambled eggs into the fried rice and mix thoroughly.
Ready to change up your standard fried rice?! I hope you enjoy and love this recipe as much as I do. I’d love to know how you mix it up and make it your own – let me know in the comments below.
Want to see more recipes? Let me know if you’d like me to share them more often.
Keep exploring,
