If you’ve been following my stories, then you know that I’ve just started a 2 week elimination diet with my gym, Hybrid Gym H Queens, to kick start 2022 with their Get Lean challenge. You guys know that I pretty much eat whatever I want with zero guilt, but it’s important to take care of your health so I think doing a reset once or twice a year is a good way to do that. Hybrid has a whole post explaining the benefits of an elimination diet, but it basically involves eating only unprocessed meats and vegetables in order to give your gut a rest. It helps to eliminate inflammation in your body that’s typically caused by processed carbs, dairy, and high sodium ingredients like soy sauce. Being Filipino, it’s tough to not be able to consume soy sauce, so that’s where this curry pork and shrimp cauliflower fried rice comes in.
Not only is it packed with lean protein and nutrient-loaded vegetables, but it uses anti-inflammatory turmeric and other spices to give tons of flavor to the fried rice without the need for soy sauce. I was actually inspired by a local dai pai dong or open-air restaurant in the Sheung Wan neighborhood of Hong Kong called 郁鍵快餐 that has delicious curry fried rice, but I swapped in the cauliflower rice and added more protein and vegetables for this healthier version.
To make things even easier, I prepped a big batch of cauliflower rice yesterday so that all I had to do was throw it in during the last part of cooking. It’s super easy to make as long as you have a box grater or food processor, and can be used to make Filipino garlic rice or in the low carb burrito bowls I shared on my story (which I’ll be sharing the full recipe for next week).
I’ve used a classic fried combination of pork and shrimp, with the pork seasoned with Chinese five spice to give it some depth in flavor without the need for a high-sodium marinade. It’s made tender by using a Chinese cooking technique called velveting. You first coat the meat in baking soda and let it sit for 20 minutes, which alkalizes the surface of the meat to keep the proteins in the meat from bonding when it cooks, hence delivering more tender meat. This allows you to use more inexpensive cuts of meat that would normally be more tough. Try velveting your proteins any time you make stir fry!
All that being said, you can also easily omit the pork and/or shrimp to making this pescatarian or vegan if you’re doing Veganuary. The cauliflower fried rice is loaded with enough vegetables to make this a hearty dish. Let me know how you customize this curry pork and shrimp cauliflower fried rice!
Curry Pork and Shrimp Cauliflower Fried Rice
Ingredients
Five Spice Pork:
- 300 g lean pork meat
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
Curry Powder:
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- Pinch of cinnamon
Cauliflower Fried Rice:
- 1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil, divided
- 200 g shrimp, thawed if frozen
- 1 bulb scallions, chopped with whites and green separated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large red bell pepper, inner membrane and seeds removed, diced
- 1 small carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 head of cauliflower, grated or pulsed in a food processor to rice-like consistency
- 1 cup green peas, thawed if frozen
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Velvet the pork. Coat the pork with the baking soda and let sit for 20 minutes.
- While the pork is sitting, make the curry powder by combining the turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, and pepper. Use the remaining time to prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Once the pork is ready, rinse off the baking soda with water and pat any excess water with a paper towel. Toss the pork in a bowl with the sesame oil, five spice, salt and white pepper.
- Heat a wok or large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 tbsp oil, then once the oil is shimmering, add the pork and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until browned and cooked through. Set aside (can be in the same bowl as earlier as you will cook the pork a bit more later)
- Add the shrimp to the pan and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until opaque and orange in color, seasoning with salt and pepper and scraping up any pork bits from the pan. Set aside in the same bowl as the pork.
- Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp oil to the pan, then add the scallion whites and garlic and cook until softened, about 1 minute.
- Add the bell pepper, carrot, and curry powder and cook for 3 minutes, then add the riced cauliflower. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower rice is tender and lightly browned. I like to cook it for longer so you get bits of charred cauliflower rice.
- Add the green peas, stirring to combine.
- Make a well in the center of the fried rice and crack the eggs into the well. Scramble the eggs with your wooden spoon or spatula, and let it sit for 1 minute, then continue to scramble and cook the egg to form small curds. Once it’s mostly cooked, stir to combine it with the rest of the rice.
- Make a well in the center again, and add the pork and shrimp, cooking for 1 minute to reheat, then mix it into the rest of the rice along with the scallion greens.
- Serve with chili flakes and enjoy.
