Fried Rice(d) Cauliflower
If you like fried rice but don’t want to overload on carbs try some riced cauliflower. This is one of those dishes that I didn’t notice much that I wasn’t eating actual rice. It was an extremely satisfying meal prep lunch and will likely be requested from the family again in the near future.
Ingredients
- Head(s) of Cauliflower
- Bag of Frozen Mixed Vegetables (I used Peas, Corn, and Carrots, Red Peppers)
- Fresh Ginger Root (Peeled and Frozen)
- Minced Garlic
- Green Onion
- Chicken
- Shiitake Mushrooms
- Eggs
- Soy Sauce
- Fish Sauce
- Red Chili Flakes
- Cilantro
- Sesame Oil
- Vegetable Oil
- Chinese five spice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
I started by marinating my chicken that was cut into about 1/2 inch cubes. I used some sesame oil, garlic, grated ginger, a little pepper and soy sauce. I put it in a sealed bag in the refrigerator for about 2 hours prior. You don’t need much marinade, just enough to coat the chicken.
The next step is to prepare the cauliflower. I cleaned a few heads of fresh cauliflower by cutting out the center and placing the florets into a food processor. I pulsed them in batches until I had the raw cauliflower looking like rice sized bites. I transferred it all to a microwaveable bowl and cooked for about 5 minutes, stopping and stirring half way through. I didn’t want to over cook the cauliflower but needed it steamed a bit. Dump any access moisture out and let it cool slightly on the counter.
Tip: I was taught when making fried rice to cook ingredients separately and then bring them together in the end to marry the flavors. I used a large stainless steel bowl to cook and then dump my prepared ingredients into while I moved on to the next step.
I used a wok, but any good sized saute pan would be fine. Saute up your chicken using the oil and sauce it was maraded in. Cook until browned slightly. I used a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to the bowl. I then discard any remaining oil and sauce and wiped down the wok for the next round of ingredients.
I then placed a bit of vegetable oil into the wok and let it get to temperature before I added the garlic, onion, and diced mushrooms. I don’t like to use to much sesame oil as it gets overpowering to me if used in excess. I let them cook for a few minutes before I dropped in my bag of frozen mixed vegetables. I let this cook, stirring quite often until my veg started to brown slightly. I then transferred this to the same bowl that the chicken was resting in.
While I was cooking the veg. I was heating another small saute pan to scramble some eggs. Some people do this in the same wok as to soak up all the flavor from the pan but I prefer to do this on the side. It helps retain the color of the eggs better as well as the flavor. I used a rubber spatula to work this into the pan so that it became small bits to re-incorporate later into the rest of the dish.
I repeated cleaning of the wok and heating of new oil. I dumped by cooling cauliflower into the wok and tossed this until it started to brown. I seasoned with some soy sauce, fish sauce, Chinese five spice, and pepper flakes. I then tasted for seasoning and salt and peppered until it was to my liking.
At this point I transferred everything back to the wok from the bowl I was using and gently mixed everything together so that I could start filling my prep containers. I garnished with some cilantro leaves and placed them into the refrigerator for the weeks meals.
Conclusion
I rarely call out specific amounts of ingredients as I think any of these recipes are really up to personal preference. This one is not complicated as its just cooking each ingredient with some technique and then bringing it together in the end. It was extremely delicious and is a great mock fried rice alternative that should keep the carb levels down as to save room for some desert later in day. At least that’s what Jennifer says its for.
