Cauliflower Fried Rice - My Verdict on this Trendy Substitution

I've heard so much about cauliflower fried "rice" that I needed to give it a whirl myself! Growing up in a Filipino household, white rice was a staple at the table (breakfast, lunch and dinner!) so I was a little skeptical about how substituting cauliflower for rice would turn out. What's my verdict? Well keep on reading....

Firstly, this is pretty easy to make! I used my mini food processor to "rice" the cauliflower and one medium sized cauliflower resulted in about 6 cups of cauliflower rice, which is a pretty substantial amount! Another plus is that cauliflower fried rice helps you cut down on those calories. I did a quick search on myfitnesspal and 1 cup of cauliflower fried rice is estimated to be 141 calories vs. 1 cup of fried white rice which comes out to 257 calories. So this easy substitution is saving you about 115 calories per serving, pretty good if you're trying to reach those #summerbody goals!

Now on to my verdict, to be honest, while the cauliflower is a good substitution, the resulting cauli fried "rice" is definitely NOT the same as regular fried rice. Having said that, I will be making more cauliflower rice recipes especially when I'm trying to watch my diet or before a beach vacation lol It's a really tasty and satisfying dish on it's own, it just doesn't completely match up to the taste, texture and flavor of real white rice. I will say, it made for a great & easy to pack lunch! I try to stick to salads/lighter lunches in the summer so I'm happily adding this as a new option for my packed lunches :)

In summary: Did I like this meal and would I make it again? Absolutely. Was it a true substitute for real fried rice? Nope. There's nothing like the real deal! And to quote Kendrick Lamar... show me something real like white rice in fried rice! hehe

Anyways if you're intrigued and would like to compare cauli fried rice vs normal fried rice... take a peek at the pictures and recipe below & try it for yourself :)

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Serves 4

1 medium-large cauliflower

1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup frozen vegetables (I used the mixed variety, a mix of carrots, peas and beans)

2 eggs

2-3 tbsp soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1. Rice the cauliflower: Roughly chop up the head of cauliflower into chunks and using your food processor, rice the chopped pieces of cauliflower. (If you don't have a food processor, I've read that you can use a box cheese grater, I haven't tried this for myself though)

2. On medium-high heat in a large frying pan or wok, heat the oil and sauté the garlic until lightly browned. Add the riced cauliflower and the soy sauce, mixing to combine. Let the cauliflower cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring every minute or so and then add in the frozen vegetables. Continue to cook for another couple minutes.

3. Make some space in the center of your pan, pushing the rice to the side, and add in the cracked eggs. I like to let my eggs sit for a minute and then I scramble them before mixing in with the rest of the rice. Once the eggs have been mixed in, season with additional soy sauce or salt, to taste and that's it! Serve, devour & enjoy :)