Fridge Raid Friday Fried Rice

Fridge Raid Friday Fried Rice

Friday night, fridge looking a bit sorry for itself, and you just want something proper tasty without a big shop. That's exactly when this recipe was born, and honestly it's become one of our favourites. Grated cauliflower stands in for rice and soaks up the most incredible umami-packed sauce, while the peppers and spring onions give you that classic fried rice vibe with a seriously clever twist. It's got crunch, it's got depth, it's got that satisfying savoury hit you're after at the end of a long week. Make it tonight, you won't regret it.

Cook: 50 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Large, deep baking tray
  • Microplane or box grater
  • Large mixing bowl

Ingredients

  • 250g pack of cooked microwavable basmati rice
  • 1 block of firm tofu, pressed
  • 1 large cauliflower
  • 3 spring onions
  • 2 ½ bell peppers
  • ½ yellow pepper
  • 100g frozen peas
  • fresh chopped coriander
  • 2 tbsp tamari
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp garlic and ginger puree
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp light brown sugar
  • 2 spring onions
  • 1 red chilli, chopped
  • Sriracha mayo
  • crispy onions

Method

1

Prepare the ingredients

  • Remove the leaves and stalk from the cauliflower, grate the cauliflower.
  • Deseed and cut the peppers into 1cm chunks.
  • Trim and thinly slice the spring onions.
  • Put all of the waste into the Lomi (i.e. cauliflower leaves and stalk, spring onion waste, pepper insides and stems).
2

Make the sauce

  • Put the tamari in a bowl with the rice vinegar, olive oil, toasted sesame oil, garlic and ginger purée and brown sugar.
  • Mix well until combined.
3

Flavour the vegetables, tofu and rice

  • Add the pepper chunks, sliced spring onions and cooked rice to a large, deep baking tray.
  • Add the grated cauliflower and pour in the sauce.
  • Mix well until everything is coated.
  • Crumble in the tofu and mix again, softly, until mixed through.
  • Put anything that does not fit on the tray into the Lomi. 
4

Time to cook

  • Place the baking tray in the oven and roast for 25–30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
    While the rice is roasting, prepare the peas
  • Place the frozen peas in heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. 
5

Finish the rice

  • Roughly chop the coriander and slice the chilli.
  • Drain the peas and shake to remove any excess moisture.
  • Remove the tray of rice from the oven.
  • Add the peas and chopped coriander (saving some for the top) to the tray and mix the contents of the tray together.
    Time to serve
  • Dress the tray with sriracha mayo.
  • Garnish with sliced spring onions, chopped red chilli, coriander and crispy fried onions and serve immediately.
  • Serve the dish and put anything that is not finished into the Lomi. 

Tips & Variations

  • Use cold cauli-rice: We find this works really well if you grate the cauliflower ahead and leave it in the fridge for 20 minutes. Less moisture means better texture in the pan, more like proper fried rice.
  • Raid the fridge properly: This recipe loves leftovers. Sweetcorn, edamame, frozen peas, leftover roasted veg, whatever you've got knocking about will work brilliantly here. That's the whole point.
  • Don't skip the sesame oil: It goes in at the end and it makes a huge difference. Just a little drizzle of toasted sesame oil lifts the whole dish and gives it that authentic wok-fried flavour we're obsessed with.

Why This Works

The trick here is grating the cauliflower nice and fine so it behaves just like rice in the pan, picking up all that toasty, smoky flavour as it cooks. What really makes this sing is the sauce, tamari, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, garlic and ginger all working together to give you that deep, punchy, restaurant-quality taste. Trust us on this one, it's the kind of dish that makes you wonder why you ever ordered takeaway.