I’ve never been a huge fan of Chinese food. It’s always left me feeling greasy and bloated, all for a meal that wasn’t worth it to me in the first place. Give me Italian cuisine any day.
Austin, on the other hand, LOVES Chinese food. He likes to eat it at least once a week.
So, when he wanted to order from our local Chinese joint last night, I decided to jump on the bandwagon, for a change. While he ordered his “usual,” I created a homemade version of one of my childhood favorites– vegetable fried rice.
My favorite aspect of fried rice has always been finding the fluffy bites of egg, so that part was non-negotiable in my recreation. To keep it properly combined with an egg, I needed a suitable substitute for rice!
Enter, cauliflower “rice.” With just a couple pulses in my mini-food processor, raw cauliflower florets become quite rice-like!
Problem solved.
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Vegetable Fried “Rice”
serves 1
Ingredients:
2 to 3 cups of cauliflower “rice”
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 tablespoon green onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 to 2 eggs, as desired
Tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), to taste
sea salt, to taste
*Feel free to add any other vegetables you like!
Directions:
In a large skillet, saute the garlic in coconut oil, over medium heat. Add in the carrots and a splash of water to prevent sticking, and cook for 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Then add the green onion and egg, which will start to cook quickly.
Add in the cauliflower rice, along with a splash of tamari and salt. Stir to combine and heat through, about 3-5 minutes.
Adjust the seasonings to taste, then serve piping hot!
This recipe is easy to adapt to your tastes and preferences, too. If you’re vegan, simply omit the egg and add some crumbled tofu, instead. Prefer other veggies? Feel free to use whatever you have on hand! I think broccoli, snap peas, and mung bean sprouts would be the perfect addition for next time.
- 2 cups cauliflower "rice"
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 1 tablespoon green onion , chopped
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 whole egg
- Tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), to taste
- sea salt , to taste
- In a large skillet, saute the garlic in coconut oil, over medium heat. Add in the carrots and a splash of water to prevent sticking, and cook for 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Then add the green onion and egg, which will start to cook quickly.
- Add in the cauliflower rice, along with a splash of tamari and salt. Stir to combine and heat through, about 3-5 minutes.
- Adjust the seasonings to taste, then serve piping hot!
This recipe is easy to adapt to your tastes and preferences, too. If you're vegan, simply omit the egg and add some crumbled tofu, instead. Prefer other veggies? Feel free to use whatever you have on hand! I think broccoli, snap peas, and mung bean sprouts would be the perfect addition for next time.
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I think I could get used to Chinese nights, if they all turn out like this one.
Which dish should I try tackling next?
Lori
Is a Vitamix too powerful to make grated cauliflower?
Tatiana
THIS WAS THE BEST RECIPE IVE EVER TAKEN OFF THE INTERNET!!
I added more veggies and some siracha but the overall recipe was perfect!!!
THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME CREATE MY NEW FAVORITE MEAL!!
Minna
This was awesome! Can’t wait to have it again, and will try different veggies too. (This time it was snow peas chopped in the food processor, carrots and white onion as I didn’t have green.) I also used some toasted sesame oil for the flavor, though I know some cooks won’t want to add that.
Jill
oh wow! I was very impressed at how the cauliflower didn’t even taste like cauliflower! Impressive! I am a RD and will refer my clients to this recipe! Awesome! Thank you!
Kathy
I made this tonight exactly as written and LOVED it! I have very picky boys and they both said it was better than regular fried rice. Who would have thought? I think your recipes are all delicious. Thank you so much for helping to make the world a healthier place.
Rachael
I LOVE your site! I discovered it about 2 weeks ago. I’m doing the GAPS diet and your recipes have been so helpful! I am wondering if you can use coconut aminos in this recipe or will it mess with the flavor?
Rachael
So I’m starting the GAPS diet and rice is a main staple in our family so I thought I would give this a try. We were out of green onion 🙁 so I sub minced yellow onion. I also added the broccoli because your picture looks so delicious with it in it. THIS WAS SOOOO good! YUM!
Natallia
Absolutely delicious! Love how easy and simple this was! Followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect..wonder if it would taste good cold for lunch the next day…
Robin
This sounds so good! I don’t have a food processor (which I should, I know!), but do you think the cauliflower would work in a blender? It’s not a Vitamix or a Blentec, just a regular, no-frills blender.
Thanks for your recipes! Made the mac ‘n cheese last night, so good!
Aditi
Great recipe! I think you may be judging Chinese food from the over processed and chemically laden take out, authentic chinese food is much lighter and tastier
Valentina
this recipe is amazing! i tried it today for lunch 🙂
Danielle
This is the best dish! After discovering an allergy to rice, I had written off fried rice all together-until now! It tastes unbelievably similar. I was able to pulse the cauliflower in my Vitamix, in small batches, to create this amazing rice like texture. This is now on my weekly dinner rotation. Thank you for another great creation. 🙂
Colette
We tried this recipe this weekend and loved it! I cannot believe it but I didn’t even realize that it was not rice, the texture and taste is identical to traditional fried rice. I used the food processor bowl on our Ninja blender which when pulsed a few times worked to make the raw cauliflower perfect “rice” consistency. We added sesame oil to add a nutty flavor, used butter instead of coconut oil and added peas. So delicious! Thank you for yet another wonderful healthy and delicious perfectly combined dish!
Karen M.
I enjoy your blog very much. I can understand why you are not a fan of Chinese food in the U.S. because it’s Americanized.
Robyn North
I used this in a burrito with black beans and my husband loved it!
Dr. Lori
This recipe is so delicious I can’t believe it! I generally don’t eat cauliflower. I like the taste but it tends to be hard to digest. Until this recipe! I am shocked at how this tastes like authentic fried rice! I can’t wait to try all the other cauliflower recipes. I added some organic, nonGMO edamame. I’d add peas too since I’m Vegan and omitted the egg. DELICIOUS!!
Marina
Has anyone tried to freeze leftovers of this? Want to make a double batch and would love to know. Thanks!
Chelsie
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I added in some celery and used coconut aminos instead of the tamari sauce. I will definitely be making this again!
Goldie
correct me if I’m wrong but the ingredients don’t state egg. Yet the instructions call for an egg!
Goldie
oops! My apologies! I must be over tired, LOL You do state an egg in the ingredients. I am vegan, would you know of a good egg substitute for this recipe?!