Last night we made Chinese and Thai food at home since there are no good delivery options near us. Its actually really frustrating b/c when we lived in NY there were a million amazing Thai restaurants nearby and at least a handful of decent Chinese. Ah well! I can complain about lack of amazing food options in D.C. in every post I make.

In an effort to be healthier, I used cauliflower instead of rice. How versatile is this vegetable? Its basically amazing as a pizza crust, as a substitute for rice, and as a vegan “steak” option. I am so in love. And its so easy to use (except of course the cleaning up part – the joy of having little cauliflower pieces everywhere in my kitchen is no fun).

For our lunchtime salads these days I usually make a Honey-Ginger Dressing so I modified that a bit and used it for the sauce on the rice. It was the right balance of flavors for a rice dish, I would have to say! You can chow down on this all by your lonesome but we paired the it with a Tofu and Broccoli in Peanut Sauce that I made which turned out pretty decent as well. I may post that recipe soon too.

We definitely didn’t miss the rice!

Look at this beautiful head of cauliflower! Ready for whatever recipe awaits.

I grate it in the food processor. Half a head is good for both hubby and me with some leftovers!

I chop up the veggies. I wished I had green onions, but I didn’t – that would have been the perfect addition in this recipe.

I also fry up an egg. You can obviously omit this and the recipe is totally vegan then!

I sauté up the veggies and add in the cauliflower “rice”.

While that’s cooking, I whip up the sauce. This had a good kick of sweet and tangy.

I garnish with some cashews!

Prep Time: 15 minutes  Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients: 

• Half of a head of cauliflower
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 3/4 cup carrots, diced
• 1/2 cup red onions, finely chopped
• Vegetable oil for sautéing
• Cashews for garnish

For Sauce 

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger (grated)
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Recipe 

1. Take cauliflower florets and put in food processor. Pulse until they are finely grated.
2. Crack an egg in a small sauté pan on medium-low heat. Heat through and then flip. Break apart the egg in the pan once fully cooked. Season with black pepper.
3. In a large sauté pan on medium heat, pour about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sauté the onions until translucent – 4-5 minutes.
4. Add the frozen peas and carrots and cook through for another 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the cauliflower and combine with vegetables. Continue to stir and let it cook for about 5-7 minutes. Some of the cauliflower should get slightly brown.
6. While the cauliflower is cooking, in a small bowl whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce.
7. Pour the sauce through a strainer to get rid of large ginger pieces into another bowl.
8. Drizzle sauce over cauliflower rice and stir to combine. Let it heat through another 1-2 minutes.
9. Add egg and cashews on top and its ready to eat!