Cauliflower Fried Rice

If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know I’ve loved cauliflower rice since before it was even a trendy thing. I would buy a whole cauliflower, section it up, cut away the stalk and pulse the florets to a fluffy rice perfection as a healthier or lower carb substitute for rice

Nowadays cauliflower rice is far more accessible and has become a staple freezer item for me. If you live in New Zealand life me, Countdown do a 400g of cauliflower rice that’s snap frozen and it only costs $2 for the bag. Bargain! Not only is it super convenient but it also saves a ton of mess that making your own cauliflower rice creates.

I was inspired to share this recipe as I’m currently in lockdown 2.0 in New Zealand thanks to COVID-19. I made this frequently throughout our first round of lockdown and found myself having it most nights during round two as well.

The best thing about it is the main elements I use (prawns, peas and cauliflower rice) are all frozen so they’re usually always there to throw together. You can also just use any little leftover scraps of vegetables and meat you have or you can be super minimalistic with it, it’s up to you. I love keeping it simple with either just baby peas, shrimp and egg or a combination cauliflower fried rice with red onion, broccoli, baby peas, shrimp, egg and chicken.

I find it kinda tricky to write a recipe for this as I love being resourceful and using what I have (also probably the reason I’m a terrible baker!) but since I’ve been making it for the past three nights for dinner, I’ve had many requests to share the recipe so here is my best shot at it!

CAULIFLOWER FRIED RICE

INGREDIENTS

400g cauliflower rice (see here for a recipe)
1/2 cup vegetables, I like to use a mixture of broccoli, peas, red onion and carrot
2 eggs
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1.5 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce

OPTIONAL
*up to 1/2 cup meat of your choice. I think chicken and or shrimp work best.

LETS MAKE IT

Start by taking a pan over a high heat and adding 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.

Whisk together your eggs and add to the hot pan. Allow the egg to bubble and fry for 1 minute before flipping over and frying the other side for a further minute. It should be slightly crispy and golden. Remove from the pan, cut roughly into 1cm squares and set aside.

On a chopping board, taking your meat (if using) and dice it into tiny bite sized pieces. I aim for around 1cm squares for chicken and just use whole shrimp. Season with salt. Ensure all the vegetables you are using are cut to a similar size too.

Turn the pan onto a medium heat and add the rest of the olive oil (1 tablespoon).

Fry off the meat until cooked through. Once the meat has cooked through, add in your vegetables and sauté until soft.

Turn the heat back up onto high and add your cauliflower rice.

Allow it to “dry fry” for 6 minutes. Dry frying means there should be little moisture left in the pan and you only move the cauliflower around minimally to allow it so slightly char. The vegetables and meat may also char in some spots.

Add the cooked egg into the mixture. Distribute the soy sauce into the pan sprinkling evenly before tossing to combine. Continue to toss until the all of the soy sauce is absorbed by the cauliflower rice and the cauliflower rice becomes a golden brown.

Serve fresh garnished with spring onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!

This recipe is also freezable or can be reheated in either the microwave or back in a pan very easily.

YOUR RECREATIONS

I LOVE seeing your recreations of my recipes! See below for photos of others trying out my recipe.
Don’t forget to tag me in your posts @arianaomipi or send them through to me so I can see them!