Cauliflower Fried Rice

I am a Chinese food fiend. With that said, I can’t remember the last time I actually ordered Chinese food. The fact is, no matter how good my fried rice and orange chicken sound in the moment, as soon as I dive into my carton of deliciousness, I feel absolutely awful. 

Don’t get me wrong – I am never one to turn my nose up at a bit of indulgence (and who doesn’t love those mini corn cobs?!) – but when the indulgence leaves me feeling dreadful, I am less tempted to go for the real thing and instead look to find a healthier substitute. 

Can this be done for Chinese food? Absolutely. 

Exhibit A: My Cauliflower Fried Rice.

Now, I am by no means implying that I invented Cauliflower Fried Rice. I am aware that this dish has actually become quite popular. But while Cauliflower Fried Rice seems to be well known, how many of you have actually tried making this dish yourselves? 

I love this Cauliflower Fried Rice recipe because it so unbelievably easy, and it’s a guilt-free way to get my Chinese food fix, so I wanted to share it. The dish has the same umami flavor as traditional fried rice, and also still has that “comfort food” feel – just with dramatically fewer carbs. You guys are going to LOVE it.

For better or worse, cauliflower itself has only a fraction of the calories found in traditional rice. With that in mind, just make sure that you buy enough cauliflower rice to actually fill up yourself or your guests –  I’m here to feed you, not starve you😉. 

Cauliflower Rice has texture similar to that of traditional rice

For those of you that are new to using cauliflower as a rice substitute, prepare to be amazed. 

Cauliflower is a blank slate vegetable. On its own, Cauliflower does not have a super strong flavor, so you can dress it up with a variety of sauces, spices, and other flavors to create healthier versions of some of your favorite, more caloric go-to dishes. 

Cauliflower Rice: 25 calories & 5 g carbs per cup
Brown Rice: 218 calories & 46 g carbs per cup

Buy Cauliflower Rice in Advance 

Due to the recent increase in popularity of cauliflower substitutes , most grocery stores now carry “riced cauliflower.” You can usually find riced cauliflower in the freezer isle or near the bags of salad at your local grocery store. 

BUY RICED CAULIFLOWER! YOU WILL SAVE SO MUCH TIME AND YOUR KITCHEN WON’T BE COVERED IN CAULIFLOWER FROM TRYING TO CHOP IT YOURSELF.

If your grocery store is on the smaller side (like every New York City grocery store near my old apartment in Nolita) and doesn’t carry riced cauliflower, you have two options: You can buy a fresh cauliflower and either finely chop it with a chef’s knife (yikes), or you can put the whole cauliflower head into a food processor until it breaks down into rice size pieces (preferable). 

Easy Clean Up

Cauliflower Fried Rice is a one-pan recipe — realistically, all you will need is a single frying pan or wok (a bowl-shaped frying pan used typically in Chinese cooking) to put this dish together.

I personally prefer chicken fried rice, so I use a casserole dish to bake my chicken separately before ultimately combining the ingredients. However, I could just as easily cut the chicken into pieces and fry them in the wok as my first step before setting aside the cook chicken and making the cauliflower rice portion in the same pan. 

Why use Liquid Aminos instead of Soy Sauce?

One of my best friends is gluten-free, so she always uses liquid aminos in her cooking. I quickly bought in when I tasted it and realized that the liquid aminos were markedly healthier and yet I couldn’t taste a difference.

According to MKfitpassion, here are some of the facts to consider when comparing loquid aminos to traditional soy sauce: 

Soy Sauce	Liquid Aminos
– Made with soybeans (one of the top GMO crops) – Made with wheat – Not gluten-free – Typically not organic – Contains preservatives – Very high in sodium	– Still made with soybeans, but is non-GMO  – Gluten-free – Preservative-free – Contains 16 amino acids – Still high in sodium

I hope you guys love this recipe! Per usual, if you try out one of my recipes, I would love to hear any feedback. OR, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me below! Good luck and enjoy!