Have you ever been in the mood for Chinese food, but not been in the mood for the greasiness or the calories? Try this one! In the spirit of full disclosure, it’s not quite the same…but it’s still excellent, and it can be highly customized by adding any of your favourite veggies or proteins (shrimp or diced beef/pork/chicken would go well in this). For this version, we opted to go strictly vegetarian and used edamame as our protein. Anyway, I’m pleased to present another post that spreads the virtue and the versatility of Cauliflower!
Time: 40 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Cauliflower (1/2 of a large head was more than enough for two people…You can also make this quicker and skip a bunch of the “method” section by purchasing pre-riced cauliflower…but this way is much cheaper and generally fresher)
- Red Pepper
- Onion
- Mushrooms
- Garlic (we used 3 large cloves)
- Protein of your choice (We used frozen shelled edamame, which was easy, delicious, and gave some nice colour. If using a different protein, try adding some peas for green colour)
- Soy Sauce (we used the low sodium variety)
- Rice Vinegar (optional, but if you don’t have it, it’s truly worth buying….amazing flavour and excellent as a marinade or vinaigrette or a great additive to stir-fries. It definitely won’t just collect dust on your shelf.)
Method:
- Prep your veggies
- Thaw your edamame
- Cut your cauliflower in half, and cut the leaves off by cutting down on the flat part of the halves to remove.
- Cut however much cauliflower you want into pieces that will fit into the feeder tube of your food processor (using the shredding plate), and pulse to rice your cauliflower.
- Alternative 1: Use a cheese grater. This can be a bit messy, but it will get the job done.
- Alternative 2: Working in small batches (and you do have to cut the cauliflower into smaller pieces than you do with the slicer plate), pulse your cauliflower in the bowl of your food processor with the regular processing attachment. Then, remove batch 1, and rinse, lather, repeat with batch 2, 3, and however many you need to get the job done.
- Dice your onion and pepper and slice your mushrooms and garlic (or take your garlic to a microplane grater)
- In a large bottomed pan (we used stainless steel, but nonstick or a wok would work as well), heat some oil, and add your onions, stirring occasionally until they give off a pleasant aroma and become opaque.
- If using beef/pork/chicken, add it after this step.
- Add in your garlic (yum) and red peppers. It is shortly after this point that whoever is in your house or apartment will flock to the kitchen.
- Add in your riced cauliflower, and pour in a good amount of soy sauce as well as some rice vinegar and water (to just cover the bottom of the pan. Add the water little bits at a time to avoid drowning the cauliflower, and instead letting it cook in part via steaming)
- Stir for a few minutes, and add your mushrooms. If the liquid all evaporates, add some more water.
- At this point, your fried “rice” should have a nice brown color like a traditional fried rice. If not, may be worth considering adding a bit more soy sauce.
- When you “rice” is nice and tender, add your edamame (or shrimp if using that) until those are fully cooked through.
- Once your protein of choice is cooked through, and your “rice” is tender, you’re done!
- Plate, devour, and enjoy! Also, a little Sriracha goes a long way to jazzing this up a bit!
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