A Twist on a Classic: Cauliflower Fried Rice with Ham, Shrimp and Pineapple

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Cauliflower-fried-rice-1

A new Asian restaurant recently opened just a few blocks from our house. Actually, it was a popular and well-established place that closed many months ago and reopened at its present, (and very convenient for us), new location. All summer long, the “Opening Summer” sign taunted us each time we’d drive by it. By mid-September, we had just about given up hope of it ever opening. Then, a few weeks ago, the lights were on and there were cars in the parking lot. And before I knew it, Mr. SGCC had pulled in and parked the car. Woo hoo!

I must say, it was worth the wait. The décor was absolutely lovely, with lots of bamboo, warm wood accents and cool, calming colors. It was hard to believe that the building was the former site of a 1970’s era Wendy’s and had stood vacant for almost ten years!

ToA-collage

One of the features of the restaurant that has drawn the crowds in for years is that it caters to all kinds of diners. The menu is quite varied and offers lots of vegan, carb-free and gluten-free choices. I am neither vegan, carb or gluten-free, but I have been trying to make better choices about the foods I consume So, I can certainly appreciate a place that tries to accommodate everyone’s dietary needs.

As I browsed through the menu, I saw something that piqued my interest – cauliflower fried rice. I love cauliflower and I love fried rice, so I ordered it. It wasn’t until I had taken a big bite that I realized that there was no actual rice in the dish. That’s right. The cauliflower WAS the “rice”. Now, I’ll admit that the restaurant was kind of dark, and I wasn’t wearing my glasses when I read the menu… But, it had never occurred to me that the rice was literally made from cauliflower. You know what, though? It was good. Better that good. It was great! So great, in fact, that as soon as I got home that night, I searched the web for similar recipes so that I could make it for myself. read more >>

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Hello and welcome to SGCC! I’m Susan, a professional writer, food columnist, recipe developer, wife, mother, daughter and sister, who used to be a lawyer in a previous life. My love of food comes from a long line of wonderful and creative Italian home cooks who didn’t always have a lot, but knew how to make a lot out of what they had. I hope that you enjoy yourself while you’re here, and visit often! read more >>

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