Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice

 I’d like to interrupt my Sichuan fest for something a little sweeter (and a lot healthier, to be sure).

But first, some back story…

I have this awful habit of buying a ton of vegetables all at once with nothing but good intentions… anyone who has opened our fridge to see a vegetable garden staring back at them can attest to that. I rationalize these purchases with ambitious recipes: “I’m going to use this gigantic surplus of green beans and make three separate dishes with them!” “I’ve always wanted to make a recipe involving Chinese eggplant.” And so, I return from the market with armfuls of vegetables and a list of future dishes in my head.

The inherent flaw in all of this, of course, is that James and I are only two people and two people cannot possibly eat a fridge full of vegetables in the time it takes for these vegetables to go past their fresh date. And if that weren’t bad enough, I’ll routinely forget about vegetables I’ve bought if they’re obscured from sight by other vegetables. It’s a terrible cycle of waste… and it can get pretty gross, too. A few days ago, I threw away a red onion that was as soft as an over-ripe peach…

I’ve gotten much, much better about this over the past few months (yes, only a few months–imagine all of the food I’ve wasted!) but sometimes it’ll come back to haunt me. Today, I was re-arranging the fridge to fit a few more things in it and I found a cauliflower head that I had “bought and forgot” last week. Aiya. Thankfully, I happened to have the ingredients for a pineapple fried rice just lying around… so I whipped up a version with cauliflower rice instead. And it was delicious!

Curry and cauliflower are already great friends, but throw fresh pineapple and raisins into the mix, with some cashew crunchiness… and it’s low-carb heaven. And because it’s rather healthy, I don’t feel any shame in admitting that I ate this entire thing myself! (Not in one sitting though… pretty sure I would explode if I tried to eat that much all at once.)

I love shrimp in fried rice/fried cauliflower rice, but you can easily substitute it with the protein of your choice. I forgot to add the green onions on top–but I think it’s worth adding them because I love the fresh crunch they add to the dish! And lastly, while canned pineapple is a great substitute, nothing beats the taste and mouthfeel of a fresh pineapple–so if you can, use fresh instead!

And if you like what you see, you may like my other cauliflower rice recipes:

• Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice
• Shrimp Fried Cauliflower Rice

Happy (healthy) eating!

Print Recipe

Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice

Author: Kris Cooking Method: stir fry Cuisine: Thai Courses: Side Dish

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 10 min Total Time 25 mins Servings: 2

Description

An (Americanized) Thai take on a low-carb dish that's surprisingly satisfying.

Ingredients

Servings

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 egg
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Thai chili, roughly chopped
• 6 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup unsalted cashews
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks
• 2 tablespoons raisins or dried currants
• 1 tablespoon chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cups cauliflower rice

Instructions

1. Mix the sauce ingredients (chicken broth, fish sauce, curry powder and sugar) into one bowl and set aside.

2. Heat 2 Tbsp. of cooking oil in a wok or large pan at medium heat. When the oil starts to look like it is rippling, add the shrimp and cook until it turns pink. Remove from the pan.

3. Add more oil if necessary (1 Tbsp or so) and crack the egg into the pan. Crack some salt & pepper into the egg, then stir to scramble.

4. When the egg is mostly cooked, add the minced shallot and garlic. Stir to mix and cook until the shallot turns translucent.

5. Add the Thai chili and stir to distribute evenly. Omit this step if you don’t want a spicy kick to your rice.

6. Turn the heat to medium high and add the cashews. Stir and mix until the cashews start to darken a little in color and become more glossy, about 1 minute.

7. Add the frozen peas–it’s okay if they’re still frozen when you add them. Stir and mix until the peas are cooked.

8. Add the pineapple chunks and raisins or currants. Stir and cook until the pineapple starts to darken, about 1 minute.

9. Add the sauce and mix well.

10. Add the shrimp and stir to coat it with the sauce.

11. Add the cauliflower rice and mix well until all of the rice is coated with color (a nice, deep yellow). Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Keywords: cashews, cauliflower, healthy, low carb, pineapple, Thai