Fried Rice in the Raw

What’s fried rice when it’s not rice? And when the fried rice isn’t fried? There’s no telling really, is there? But this happens to be a very tasty and remarkably similar tasting version of the fried rice we all know and love with all the flavor of Asia completely intact. Only minus the frying. And also minus the MSG. This is a recipe that can change the mindset of almost anyone with a cauliflower phobia – and there’s plenty of those out there. In fact, you’ll barely know it’s there at all! And the nice thing is that you can eat this cold or at room temperature… or you could heat it up a little in the dehydrator and really fool yourself into believing you’ve been cooking!

The most tedious part of this raw ‘fried rice’ recipe would be all that chopping. And – let’s face it – turning that big old head of cauliflower into anything resembling rice, would be a daunting task without modern appliances. This is where you welcome in your handy dandy food processor and feel fortunate that it’s in your kitchen! This is a friend, for sure! All of a sudden everything’s easy and you’ll be done with the whole thing in mere minutes! Then comes the best part… Eating!

It’s funny: sometimes preparing raw food demands more patience; it could be hours till that dehydrator timer goes off! And sometimes you’re totally surprised at how quickly you can mix everything together. Not to mention how easy it is to clean everything up. That’s one of the things I love most: that chunk of time you get for yourself when you don’t have to scrub pots and pans.

That’s certainly worth taking your fried rice Raw.

RAW VEGAN RECIPE: Fried Rice in the Raw

1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1/2 cup fresh raw peas

2 stalks celery, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 corn cob, kernels cut off cob

1 shallot, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 scallions, sliced

3 T. sunflower seeds

2 T. pumpkin seeds

4 T tamari or Braggs liquid amino acids

4T sesame oil (or two to taste)

2 – 3 T ginger, grated

1 T sesame seeds

1 Chop and mince all vegetables except for cauliflower and corn. The corn kernels should be whole. Put in large bowl and set aside.

2.Deposit all the cauliflower florets into the food processor and pulse until cauliflower looks like rice. You might need to remove the lid a few times and push everything down with a spatula to make sure it pulses evenly. Add to other vegetables.

3. In a separate dish, mix together ginger, sesame oil and liquid aminos. Add to vegetable mixture and mix well to incorporate flavours.

4.Add sunflower and pumpkin seeds and stir to coat.

5. Let sit and marinate fo 4 hours or more.

Note: This is a great meal to take to work for lunch. You can make it in the morning or the night before. Put it in a little container and by the time you’re ready for lunch, it’ll be ready too!