Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Vietnamese Cauli-Fried Rice W/Nước Chấm

Directions for Nước Chấm Sauce:
1/4 cup water
2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (to taste)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (We used soy sauce instead)
1 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon honey or agave
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Chili flakes optional

In a mason jar, combine all the Nước chấm Sauce ingredients. Shake or mix well. Sprinkle as desired onto fried rice, salads or even use a dipping sauce.

For The Fried Rice:
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil or preferred cooking oil (we used canola)
1 cup carrots, diced (about 3 carrots)
1 cup onion, diced (about 1 onion)
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup asparagus, diced
 2 chicken breasts sliced (The original recipe called for 1 cup of shrimp and 1 cup of sausage but this is the protein we had)
3 cups of grated cauliflower (1-2 heads depending on the size)
2 large eggs, cracked & lightly beaten
1/4 cup spring onions, chopped
1/4 cilantro
Coarse sea salt and cracked pepper to taste (less salt is needed if using the sauce below)


Directions:
Grate the Cauliflower using a food processor with the grater attachment or use a hand grater.

Prep the rest of the ingredients as stated in the ingredient list above. I find it helpful to put each ingredient into a separate prep bowl.

Preheat your wok over medium-high heat. Note: Flat bottomed woks work best on a stove top. You could also use a regular frying pan. In this case, it may be best to cook the ingredients in two batches to ensure that the ingredients ' fry' instead of steam.

Add the oil and the onions to the hot wok. Fry the onions till soft and translucent. Add the garlic and the carrots, cooking till the carrots begin to soften and the onions begin to caramelize. Then add the asparagus and chicken. Continue to fry for a few minutes, stirring & tossing the ingredients often. You want the vegetables and protein to be mostly cooked through before adding the cauliflower.

Add the cauliflower. Stir and toss to combine the ingredients and then spread the ingredients out in the wok into a thin layer. Allow them to fry like this for a minute or two. This will help the mixture to 'fry' and brown instead of steam. (Again, sometimes it helps to cook in two batches if your pan is not very large) Toss and spread out again. Do this a few times until some of the cauliflower starts to brown.

Make a well in the center of the 'rice' mixture. Pour the lightly beaten eggs in to the 'well'. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir the eggs until they begin to thicken. Once thickened and just beginning to scramble, mix and toss them into the rice. Mix well. The rice will become fluffier and you should only see little bits of egg throughout the mixture. Continue to cook the mixture until it looks good to you.

 Garnish by tossing in the spring onions, cilantro and just a splash of Nước Chấm per serving.

Notes: This was awesome. Really really good and really healthful. This made enough to feed 3 people.

Original recipe: http://urbanposer.blogspot.com/2012/07/vietnamese-cauli-fried-rice-wnuoc-cham.html

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