The Saucy Mistake To Avoid When Serving Cauliflower Rice

When you grate cauliflower or pulse it in a food processor, you're left with cauliflower rice. The substitute has a mild flavor and is quick to cook, just like rice, but it's not rice. Although you may swap it out for the grain, there are a few changes you need to make when preparing it to avoid mistakes. With rice, it's not out of the ordinary to add a little too much liquid or sauce. No problem, just turn up the heat and stir, stir, stir until the liquid is absorbed into the fluffy rice. Unfortunately, cauliflower rice doesn't have those porous powers, turning into soggy mush quickly. Once you start to add a little too much liquid, it's easy to pass the point of no return.

When adding sauce to cauliflower rice, it's best to go low and slow, and use thicker sauces with a lower water content. Add a small quantity and stir it in completely before determining whether you should add more. The limited amount of sauce may seem like a drawback in terms of flavor, but there's an easy workaround. In dishes like Mexican rice that require the grains to simmer in seasoned liquid for some time, opt for concentrated flavors when switching to cauliflower. Skip the broth step and just stir some tomato paste into the cauliflower rice for that rich taste without the sogginess.

With softer rice dishes like risotto, a lot of liquid is required to get that tender, creamy texture. When making cauliflower risotto, you don't need to shy away from adding broth, wine, or heavy cream — you'll just use less than a regular risotto dish would. While risotto calls for at least 3 cups of liquid for 1 cup of rice, cauliflower rice risotto only needs a half cup of coconut milk for 1.5 cups of cauliflower rice.

If the goal is crispy rice, however, aromatics are favored over sauce. Making cauliflower fried rice follows a similar process as fried rice. Build flavor by sauteing your aromatics before placing the rice in the wok. Once ginger, garlic, and onions have infused the oil with its taste, you'll only need a splash or two of soy sauce and some peppery green onions to finish off the dish. If you do prefer your cauliflower fried rice with a thicker sauce, cook it down with the aromatics before adding the rice into the wok.