Since the start of Chinese New Year (an occasion marked by the sudden appearance of craploads of “lucky” oranges and tangerines on our kitchen counters), I felt somewhat compelled to make an Asian-style fried cauliflower “rice” dish tonight for dinner. Plus, XFit Mama just made a bunch the other night, and reading her her post made me crave Chinese faux fried rice. (BTW, XFit Mama is one badass mother – despite being pregnant with her second peanut, she manages to do just about all of her WODs at CrossFit Palo Alto as RX’d and FAST.)
Traditional Chinese fried rice is basically a dish made from leftovers you have rotting in your fridge, which makes dinner prep a breeze. Dice or chop everything small and uniform and your actual cooking time will only be 10-15 minutes. To make my cauliflower fried rice more “Asian,” I added bacon, scrambled eggs, minced ginger, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, fish sauce, and coconut aminos. Okay, the bacon part isn’t Chinese but it’s intrinsic for the dish. Feel free to change up this recipe by substituting whatever you have lying around. Try adding some leftover meat to make a complete, one-bowl meal.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
- 1 small head cauliflower, separated in florets or 16 ounces riced cauliflower
- 3 bacon slices, cut into small dice (make sure it’s sugar-free & junk-free if you’re doing a Whole30)
- 2 large eggs
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small onion, minced
- 4 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
- 1-inch ginger knob, peeled and grated with a microplane
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- Splash of coconut vinegar or rice vinegar (optional)
- Splash of Red Boat Fish Sauce (not optional)
Method:
Pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor until the pieces resemble rice or couscous.
(You skip the part above if you bought a bag of riced cauliflower.)
Toss the diced bacon into a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and fry until the bits are crispy.
While the bacon’s cooking, whisk the two eggs in a small bowl with some salt and pepper. When the bacon’s done, remove the crunchy swine to a separate plate with a slotted spoon.
Pour the whisked eggs into the hot bacon grease and fry a thin egg omelet, about 2 minutes on one side and then 30 seconds on the other side. Transfer the egg omelet to a cutting board and slice it thinly. Set it aside.
Crank up the heat for the cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and add the chopped onions (along with a dash of salt and pepper). Once the onion soften, toss in the sliced mushrooms (along with yet another sprinkle of salt and pepper) and stir-fry everything until the mushroom liquid has evaporated and the ‘shrooms have browned a bit.
While the ’shrooms are cooking, grab your ginger. I always keep a large knob of ginger on hand in my freezer because that way I’ll always have it handy. When I need to use it, I take it out of the freezer, peel off the skin with a vegetable peeler, and microplane it. It’s almost like making ginger-flavored shaved ice.
The microplane is the best tool for grating ginger – no stringiness and the ginger blends in really well into your dish. (The microplane is one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools. If you don’t have one, stop reading this post and get one immediately.)
When the mushrooms are cooked, add the ginger and stir it around for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Toss in the cauliflower and even more salt and pepper.
Place a lid on the skillet and lower the heat to low and cook it covered for about 5 minutes. When the cauliflower’s tender (but not too mushy), add the coconut aminos, the herbs, and the sliced egg omelet. You can also add a little coconut vinegar to add a tiny bit of tang to the dish. And splash on some fish sauce for good measure! Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Before serving, I toss on the reserved crispy bacon bits. Voila!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Asian Cauliflower Fried "Rice"
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 servings
Looking for a Whole30-friendly Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice that will rival whatever you'd order at your favorite Chinese takeout joint? Make this dish!
Ingredients
- 1 small head cauliflower, separated in florets or 16 ounces riced cauliflower
- 3 bacon slices, cut into small dice (make sure it's sugar-free & junk-free if you're doing a Whole30)
- 2 large eggs
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small onion, minced
- 4 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
- 1-inch ginger knob, peeled and grated with a microplane
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- Splash of coconut vinegar or rice vinegar (optional)
- Splash of Red Boat Fish Sauce (not optional)
Instructions
- Pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor until the pieces resemble rice or couscous. (You skip this part above if you bought a bag of riced cauliflower.)
- Toss the diced bacon into a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and fry until the bits are crispy.
- While the bacon's cooking, whisk the two eggs in a small bowl with some salt and pepper.
- When the bacon's done, remove the crunchy swine to a separate plate with a slotted spoon.
- Pour the whisked eggs into the hot bacon grease and fry a thin egg omelet, about 2 minutes on one side and then 30 seconds on the other side. Transfer the egg omelet to a cutting board and slice it thinly. Set it aside.
- Crank up the heat for the cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and add the chopped onions (along with a dash of salt and pepper). Once the onion soften, toss in the sliced mushrooms (along with yet another sprinkle of salt and pepper) and stir-fry everything until the mushroom liquid has evaporated and the 'shrooms have browned a bit.
- While the 'shrooms are cooking, grab your ginger. I always keep a large knob of ginger on hand in my freezer because that way I'll always have it handy. When I need to use it, I take it out of the freezer, peel off the skin with a vegetable peeler, and microplane it. It’s almost like making ginger-flavored shaved ice.
- The microplane is the best tool for grating ginger – no stringiness and the ginger blends in really well into your dish. (The microplane is one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools. If you don’t have one, stop reading this post and get one immediately.)
- When the mushrooms are cooked, add the ginger and stir it around for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Toss in the cauliflower and even more salt and pepper.
- Place a lid on the skillet and lower the heat to low and cook it covered for about 5 minutes. When the cauliflower's tender (but not too mushy), add the coconut aminos, the herbs, and the sliced egg omelet. You can also add a little coconut vinegar to add a tiny bit of tang to the dish. And splash on some fish sauce for good measure! Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Before serving, I toss on the reserved crispy bacon bits. Voila!
Courses Dinner
Cuisine Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-free, Chinese, Asian
