Fried rice, oddly enough, was never a staple food when I was growing up. It was usually the occasional dish my parents would cook whenever we had old leftover rice that we didn’t know what to do with. It was what we would order when we went to Chinese restaurants in L.A. while visiting my grandparents.
Yet whenever my parents did cook fried rice, I’d eat at least 2 or 3 bowls of it. The flavor was always just right: some soy sauce, scrambled eggs, pan seared vegetables and rice, who could possibly resist eating it? Not me.
And so I thought to myself: How can I eat fried rice more frequently without the…well, rice. Cauliflower rice has been trending lately. A friend of mine has been cooking cauliflower fried rice and raving about it. So after my success with using it for mushroom risotto, I figured that it was time for me to attempt it with fried rice using my parents’ original recipe. And guys, it turned out super tasty!
Seriously, this is one of the quickest, simplest, cheapest, and healthiest meals you could make! It also stays true to fried rice flavors. I know this because my dad, who claims he cannot live without rice, actually enjoyed this dish.
10 minutes folks. That’s all you’ll need. And probably a food processor or pre-riced cauliflower. Your choice.
- ½ head of cauliflower (about 5 cups of riced cauliflower)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- Optional (1/2 cup frozen carrots)
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 eggs (free range organic preferred)
- 3-4 Tablespoons canola oil
- Soy sauce and pepper to taste
- Put the florets of ½ a head of cauliflower into a food processor and process until all of them are in even fine chunks (see photograph)
- In a large pan (wok), heat oil over high heat. Crack two eggs and scramble until they're half cooked. Push them to the side of the pan. Add the frozen peas. Stir the peas around over high heat and occasionally stir the eggs to keep breaking them apart and prevent them from burning. Do this for about 2 minutes.
- Add the frozen corn and minced garlic. Mix the eggs with the corn and peas. Stir frequently over high heat and make sure to keep breaking the eggs apart with your spatula. Do this for about another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cauliflower rice. Stir everything frequently over high heat to prevent burning. Do this for another 3-4 minutes. Taste and see if the cauliflower is cooked (it'll cook pretty quickly). If it's not cooked, keep stirring it around for another minute or so and taste it again.
- Once the cauliflower is cooked to your desired consistency, remove the fried rice from the heat and add soy sauce and pepper to taste.
It’s extremely simple, right? The cauliflower rice should cook fairly quickly depending on how fine you make it. Just taste it every minute or so to check if it’s cooked. Some people like it a little crunchier than others, so it’s best that you try it yourself.
Hope you all have a fantastic rest of your week. If you enjoyed this recipe, go ahead and pin this recipe, leave a comment, or share it away!
Stay happy and healthy, y’all!
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