I have a confession … prior to my real food conversion, I absolutely loved Chinese food.
Yep … that MSG, fake salt, and high fructose laden Chinese food. I loved it and ate it much more often than I’d like to admit!
Once we gave up the junk food, I’d still occasionally wish I could eat Chinese food, especially shrimp fried rice, so I started experimenting with healthier versions. Like with most foods, the healthier versions can actually taste better if prepared well, so this will begin a series of healthy versions of my former favorite Chinese foods …
In place of soy sauce in recipes I’ve come up with two great alternatives: a homemade soy sauce that is soy free, uses real food ingredients, and tastes great, or store-bought coconut aminos. You can read about both options in this post and also get the recipe for my homemade version of soy sauce.
Shrimp Fried Cauliflower Rice Recipe (Gluten Free & Delicious!)
Ingredients
- 1 head of fresh cauliflower
- ¼ cup sesame oil or coconut oil
- ½ cup fresh carrots finely chopped
- 8 fresh green beans chopped (optional)
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 TBSP naturally fermented soy sauce or coconut aminos
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 egg
- ½ lb fresh or frozen shrimp peeled and with tails removed
Instructions
- Use a food processor or chef's knife to chop the cauliflower into rice sized pieces.
- In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil or coconut oil until melted.
- Add the cauliflower and stir.
- Quickly chop the carrots and green beans.
- Add the carrots, green beans, and peas to the pan and continue to stir until vegetables are starting to get tender.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with the soy sauce or coconut aminos, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Move the veggies to the edges, leaving an open space in the middle of the pan.
- Drop the egg into the circle and leave for about a minute until starting to cook.
- Scramble the egg into the rest of the mixture.
- Add the shrimp and cook until just done.
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Are there any un-healthy foods you miss? Have you made healthier versions? Share below!
Smothered Pork Chops
Hello, I loved the idea of shrimp fried “rice”. I tried your recipe and for me, I think the order was mixed up. It took so long for the shrimp to cook after it was added to the “rice”. next time I will cook the veggies, then the shrimp, then add the “rice”. There was a lot of water at the bottom of the pan after everything was cooked which was not pleasant. Otherwise, wonderful recipe and I’ll make it again! Thanks for sharing!
I’m on a Chinese kick this week! I’m making this recipe later in the week, which is tried and true and well loved in our house. But tonight I made thepioneerwoman’s beef and snow peas with Paleo modifications along with sautéed broccoli slaw (1#) with 1 tbsp grated garlic, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 1/4 cup beef broth, a few dashes of fish sauce and 1 tsp of NomNomPaleo’s mushroom powder. It was reminiscent of ramen noodles, but went with the beef and snow pea recipe. Thursday will be the Cantonnese Pork Belly from Ancestral Table, likely with Bok choy. And since citrus is in season our desserts will be various citrus fruits. Lol! Had to share with a fellow Chinese food lover.
Great Recipe!! Was a huge hit..Made for BF and he loved it..He asked if it was brown rice, I said NO, He asked is it white rice, again NO..ha ha I finally told him Cauliflower! He was shocked, amazed and impressed.. I served with plain side salad lettuce, fresh flaked salmon on top w/sesame dressing. Easy peasy. And This is my first time using coconut oil in dinner recipe, could barely taste coconut oil.. thought it would b over powering but not at all..My BF said the house smelled so good when he walked in..I used CO aminos YUMMY.. .
Thank you for all your hard work and wonderful in sight..
So I was a little reluctant to try this… my thoughts being how can you make fried rice without rice?!?! being both Hispanic and Asian (and having lived a number of years in Japan) rice is a staple in my household whether it be Mexican dishes or Japanese. But lo and behold it came out great! I will definitely be using cauliflower in my recipes from now on since we have decided to go grain free. Thank you for the great recipe!
You can use soy sauce in fried rice and fresh cooked rice.
Just reduce the amount of water when you cook the rice.
Instead of using day old rice, i am using fresh cooked rice that is still very hot.
If its too dry while stir fry, you can sprinkle with tap water.
Don’t forget to add 1/4 white sugar for each 3 cups cooked fried rice as MSG substitution while cooking.
Pardon my bad grammar. English is not my first language.
I think your English is better than a lot of Americans. Well done.
hmm…I was taught not to use soy sauce when making fried rice (because it made the rice too sticky – although I suppose it wouldn’t be an issue here). Instead the egg was scrambled with a little salt and dry sherry. Once fluffy add leftover veggies, cooked meat and day-old rice. If you wanted it dark, add a splash of a browning sauce (like gravy master).
It’s more of an American thing though to have dark fried rice, my Asian friends thought it was quite odd and I grew to really like the non-brown version. I now typically make it yellow by adding Turmeric.