Cauliflower is an incredibly versatile vegetable and its somewhat plain flavour makes it easy to experiment with. As rice can often leave dishes feeling heavy and diners bloated, substituting the carbohydrate for a vegetable makes absolute sense. In addition, it’s a great way to squeeze an extra vegetable into your daily diet.
How to make cauliflower rice
There are two main techniques for making cauliflower rice.
You can either use a grater with medium-sized holes, traditionally used for cheese, or by using a food processor.
A food processor works great for quickly blitzing the chunky vegetable into small pieces.
Whichever technique you opt for, the end goal is to create little pieces the size of grains of rice.
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If using a food processor, chop the cauliflower up into florets first before cutting them down.
To remove excess moisture from the cauliflower rice, transfer to a large paper towel or absorbent dish and squeeze it down to remove any water.
If you have excess moisture in your cauliflower rice, it can ruin a dish by making it soggy.
Once you have prepared your cauliflower rice, it’s very easy to cook.
Additionally, you can cook the cauliflower in a microwave.
To do so, spoon some rice into a microwaveable bowl, cover it with plastic and pierce with a knife.
Cook on high heat in the microwave for approximately three minutes, but times will vary depending on your microwave.
If you want to prepare the rice in advance, but don’t want to eat it just yet, it keeps very well.
Pop into ziplock bags and you can store it in the fridge for up to four days.
Alternatively, you can freeze the cauliflower rice to extend its life, it is safe to keep frozen for up to six months.
If keeping in the fridge, watch out for the cauliflower rice smell which can occur after a few days.
Cauliflower rice often softens and smells after just a few days in the chiller, but the strong smell isn’t an indication of spoilage although very potent.