How to Make Easy Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice for Two
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In our house, Saturdays are for pizza, but Sundays are for Asian food. Most weeks, after meal prepping, we have a ton of leftover rice. However, sometimes when we plan a little healthier, Sunday dinner ends up being this delicious kimchi cauliflower fried rice.
This recipe is perfect for two very hungry adults. However, if you serve it with other things (dumplings, scallion pancakes, etc.) you can stretch it out for more people.
I love it because I can throw all the ingredients into a pan and have dinner ready in about 15 minutes. Who’s with me when I say I don’t want to cook anymore after meal prepping? Even if it only takes me an hour to get my breakfasts and lunches done, I’m still over it. That’s why this recipe is clutch.
Start with Cauliflower Rice
The ingredients list is pretty flexible, but the main things you need are cauliflower rice and kimchi. Beyond that, I like green onion, garlic, and ginger for aromatics, soy sauce (because it’s not fried rice without it), eggs, peas, and carrots.
You can get a massive bag of frozen cauliflower rice at Costco, or you can use whatever you can find at the store. Frozen and fresh will cook slightly differently. Frozen cauliflower rice has ice crystal formation that means it’ll release a lot of liquid. Fresh doesn’t really release liquid as easily.
If you’re making your own cauliflower rice, don’t forget that you can use a shredding disc in your food processor instead of standing at the counter with a box grater for half an hour. While I have definitely done this, it’s such a time suck.
Where to Buy Kimchi
As for the kimchi, if you have a local Asian market, please go there. Sure, artisan quality stuff you find at the grocery store is fine, but it’s also super overpriced and not as good. My husband bought a gallon of the stuff for really cheap.
Also, there’s a lot of really cool stuff at those markets. Ours is the only place we can get good scallion pancakes, proper potstickers, fish cake, and (of course) kimchi. Plus, the produce there is ridiculously cheap. Anyway, please support your local family-owned businesses!
And, if you need something else to make with your jar of kimchi, I highly recommend my Bulgogi and Kimchi Pizza. It’s really yummy and fun to share!
Start with Oil and Aromatics
This recipe is going to go really quickly. But in order for it to turn out “take-out good,” we have to treat our ingredients well. So, start by heating up a teaspoon of heat-tolerant oil (i.e. avocado or coconut). When it is hot, it will slip around the pan a little easier. This takes about a minute over medium-high heat on the stove. I use a regular old non-stick pan, by the way.
To your hot oil, add a teaspoon each of minced garlic, minced ginger, and green onion. These are going to fry for a minute to release their oils into the carrier oil. This is how you’ll ensure even flavor distribution throughout the whole dish. Once it starts smelling amazing, you can move on.
Adding Veg to Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice
Before anything else, I like to add in my fresh carrot to get it a little soft. Carrots tend to take longer than the rest of the veggies to cook, so give them a minute or two headstart.
To your pan, you’ll dump in a ton of cauliflower rice. Remember, it’s going to lose a lot of water volume so use more than you think you need to make sure there’s enough to really fill you up.
If you’re using frozen, stir it around and cook the cauliflower rice until it’s just starting to soften up. If using fresh, give it about 2 minutes to heat up.
Now you are ready to add in your chopped up kimchi. You really have to remember to chop it up, otherwise, you have MASSIVE bites of kimchi, and that’s not what we want.
I like to stir everything around until the liquid from the kimchi has evaporated a little. Then, I add in my frozen peas and give them a little stir. They’ll cook very quickly. You don’t want to over cook them until they’re mushy.
Eggs for Protein
Now, you’ll push everything over into one half of your pan, and crack in 3 eggs. Immediately, break the yolks and start whisking them around with whatever implement you’ve been using. No need to dirty extra tools.
Stir quickly and thoroughly to make sure you have smaller curds of scrambled eggs. It’s okay if some veg gets pulled in. The important part is just making sure you’ve got the egg cooked through. Once they’re done to your own preference, stir the eggs and veg altogether.
Serving Up Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice
What did that take? 10 minutes tops? It’s so easy to throw together this healthy meal that I sometimes do it for a filling lunch on Saturday before pizza night. I feel good about indulging later because I’ve gotten in good protein and lots of vegetables already.
And it only uses 6 dishes: a cutting board, a knife, a pan, a wooden spoon, a bowl, and the spoon I use to eat. Most of that can go in the dishwasher. That means clean-up isn’t too bad either.
But maybe you’re serving up a nice dinner for two and you need just a little more to go with it. Why not grill a bit of chicken or salmon for extra, nice, lean protein? Or maybe you needed veggies but you’re not really into low-carb meals. Add some potstickers and scallion pancake to the table.
The Tools You’ll Need for Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice
You don’t need a lot of tools for this recipe, but here are my recommendations:
Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice
Equipment
- Large sauté pan
Ingredients
- 1 tsp coconut or avocado oil
- 2 large green onions greens and whites, sliced thin
- 2 cloves garlic grated or minced finely
- ½ inch ginger root grated or minced finely
- ⅓ cup carrot small dice
- 4 cups cauliflower rice fresh or frozen
- ½ cup kimchi chopped
- ⅓ cup frozen peas
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- If you haven't already, slice your green onion finely. Mince or grate the garlic and ginger.
- Add the coconut oil to a hot sauté pan, and once melted, add the onion, garlic, and ginger to it.
- Once the aromatics are fragrant, add in the carrots. Sauté until starting to soften.
- Add in the cauliflower rice. If frozen, cook until thawed. If fresh, cook until starting to soften.
- Add in the kimchi and stir to combine. Once the mixture is steaming, add in the peas, and push everything to one side.
- To the empty side of your pan, crack in the eggs. Stir to scramble them, cooking until done to your liking. Stir the cooked scrambled eggs into the rest of the fried rice. Season with soy sauce.
