Friday, April 22, 2016

Quinoa and Cauliflower Low-Carb "Fried Rice" with Shrimp

Yum

Quinoa and Cauliflower "Fried Rice" with Shrimp is a great way to enjoy Asian style fried rice without all the carbs of regular rice.  The added cauliflower fills out the dish and helps lower the carbs deliciously. 

I loved rice... a little too much.  I try to eat low carb, but my rice cravings were getting out of control.  I tried my best to eat a lot of salads and lower carb meals, but sometimes I simply wanted the comfort food feel of rice.  

Well, quinoa is my favorite rice substitute.  It's very high in protein, but it still has some carbs.  So, I decided to cut the quinoa in half by bulking up the dish with some good old low-carb cauliflower.  Cauliflower is amazing when you want to eat low-carb.  Not only does it make a great mashed potato substitute, you can make "rice" out of it too. 

So this dish is definitely not "no carb", but rather a "lower carb" option for those of you that crave fried rice and don't want to deal with the guilt of eating a second helping.



Quinoa and Cauliflower Low Carb "Fried Rice" with Shrimp
Recipe by Ramona from Kitchen Simmer

Ingredients:
3-4 cups cooked Quinoa (see recipe how to cook Quinoa here)
4-5 cups finely chopped cauliflower (about half a large head of cauliflower
2-3 Tbs water 
salt (as needed)
1 large bunch of scallions
2 small zucchini
3-4 sweet peppers sliced (or red bell pepper)
8oz white button mushrooms sliced
1 jalapeno pepper sliced
1 Tbs minced fresh garlic
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
2-3 Tbs soy sauce (to taste)
1 Tbs oyster sauce
1 Sambal oelek (to taste)
1 Tbs sriracha sauce (optional)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil 
1lb cleaned uncooked shrimp
 

Directions:
 Step 1:  Cook quinoa (recipe here) .  This can be done several days in advance. 


Step 2:  Finely chop cauliflower.  Place in pan with 2Tbs water and a little salt.  Cover with a lid and steam until cauliflower is tender, but not mushy.  Add water (1 Tbs at a time) as needed, but do not add too much water and make cauliflower watery.  You can also try to steam the cauliflower in the microwave until tender. 
 

Step 3:  Move steamed cauliflower to the edges of pan and add 2 Tbs canola oil.  Saute garlic and ginger in oil.  Then mix in the cauliflower and saute.  Next add the mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, sweet peppers and scallions.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.

Step 4:  Add cleaned uncooked shrimp, sriracha sauce, sambal oelek sauce, oyster sauce and soy sauce.  Cook until vegetables are cooked, but still firm.

Step 5:  Add cooked quinoa to pan. Saute with all ingredients in pan.  Once shrimp is cooked through, add sesame oil.  Mix well and taste for salt and seasoning.  If you desire more salt flavor, adjust soy sauce. Serve hot.  Garnish with some scallions greens. Enjoy.

 

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