Recipes › Cauliflower › Quick Cauliflower Fried Rice with Ginger and Spring Onion
Quick Cauliflower Fried Rice with Ginger and Spring Onion
This is not cauliflower pretending to be rice — it is a proper stir-fry where finely grated cauliflower becomes the base of a fast, satisfying dish packed with ginger, garlic, sesame and egg. It comes together in under 30 minutes and is the kind of thing you can pull off on a Tuesday with whatever is in the fridge. Think of it as a lighter, fresher cousin of egg fried rice.
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Ingredients
- 1 Cauliflower, broken into florets, approximately 750g prepared weight
- 3 Eggs, beaten
- 6 Spring onions, white and green parts separated, finely sliced
- 4 cm Fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 3 cloves Garlic, finely grated or crushed
- 150 g Frozen peasor fresh shelled peas in season
- 3 tbsp Tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)use regular soy sauce if not gluten-free
- 2 tsp Toasted sesame oil
- 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1 Fresh red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
Contains: cereals gluten, eggs, sesame, soya.
Method
- Pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor in two batches until they resemble coarse crumbs, roughly the size of grains of rice. Do not over-process or it will turn to mush. Alternatively, grate the florets on the coarse side of a box grater.About 5 min
- Heat a large wok or wide frying pan over the highest heat until smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil and pour in the beaten eggs. Scramble quickly, breaking into small pieces, for about 60 seconds until just set. Tip onto a plate and set aside.About 2 min
- Return the wok to the heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the white parts of the spring onions, the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant but not burning.About 1 min
- Add all of the cauliflower rice to the wok. Spread it out as much as possible and let it sit without stirring for 90 seconds to get some colour on the bottom, then toss and repeat. Stir-fry for a total of 5 minutes until the cauliflower is cooked through, tender and starting to turn golden in places.About 5 min
- Add the frozen peas and stir-fry for 1 minute until heated through. Return the scrambled egg to the wok and add the tamari. Toss everything together well over the heat for 1 minute.About 2 min
- Remove from the heat and drizzle over the sesame oil. Toss once more. Serve immediately in bowls topped with the green spring onion tops and fresh chilli if using.
Tips
- A genuinely hot wok is the single most important thing here. If the pan is not properly smoking before the cauliflower goes in, it will steam and turn soft rather than frying.
- Do not crowd the pan — if you are cooking for more than 4 people, work in two separate batches rather than overloading the wok.
- The cauliflower can be processed up to a day ahead and kept in a sealed container in the fridge. It actually fries slightly better when it has dried out a little.
Ring the changes
- Add 200g of cooked, peeled prawns with the peas for a seafood version — they only need 1 minute to heat through.
- Replace the tamari with 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce for a Thai-influenced version.
Keeping it
Best eaten straight away. Leftovers keep in the fridge for 1 day and can be reheated in a hot pan with a splash of water, though the texture will be softer.
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