maple•spice: Cauliflower Sung Choi Bao

Monday, 2 February 2015

Cauliflower Sung Choi Bao

This was a bit of a funny recipe development, I had started off wanting to try cauliflower rice which I have been seeing everywhere. That being cauliflower finely chopped to replace rice, not that it tastes like it off course, just for a "healthier" version, or at least less calories than rice. So I set about making just my standard fried rice recipe with the cauliflower and found I ended up with something very similar to this "vegetable sung" dish we love to get from a local restaurant....and loved it!

It is so yummy, very healthy and packed with flavour - coconut oil, chilli, garlic, ginger, turmeric, soy sauce with cauliflower, carrots, petite pois, mushrooms, spring onions and chopped roasted cashews and peanuts. It's got great anti-inflammatory ingredients as well with the coconut oil, chilli and turmeric - I feel great having this when the old lupus is acting up :-)

Cauliflower Sung Choi Bao:

Yields 2 servings

½ Tbsp coconut oil
½ small onion or a couple shallots, finely chopped
70g mushrooms, diced small
½ tsp turmeric
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
150g finely chopped cauliflower florets
50g carrot, finely diced
50g petite pois
1 Tbsp soy sauce - use tamari for gluten free version
1 spring onion, chopped
20g chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
20g chopped roasted unsalted cashews
Iceberg lettuce leaves to serve

First, chop all the veg and have ready, everything should be chopped fairly fine here. For the cauliflower, I just slice off the florets leaving the stem and stalks. Don't throw them away though, you can still use them for other dishes! Note: If you don't have already roasted nuts just give them a quick roast in the oven - 180C for 5-10 min should do, give the pan a shake now and again and keep an eye on them, when lightly golden brown, remove and let cool before chopping.

Heat the coconut oil in a large lidded wok or frying pan and add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and fry until soft and fragrant. Add the mushrooms, turmeric and a dash of salt. Fry until the mushrooms start to release liquid. Add the cauliflower and carrot and give it a good stir. Add a splash of hot water, cover and simmer until the carrots and cauliflower are just tender. Remove the lid, add the peas and fry until the mixture is dry. Add the soy sauce and fry again until any liquid is reabsorbed. Stir in most of the spring onion and chopped nuts. Spoon into iceberg lettuce cups then sprinkle with the remaining spring onion and nuts.