Granted, it was fast food Wow Bao Cauliflower Rice, but still…
I ordered it as a bowl base for teriyaki chicken.
Aaaaaaannnddd…it wasn’t terrible. A fair approximation of rice. Closer to the texture of brown rice.
My only real complaint is that it’s not good plain like rice is. It must be mixed with something, chicken teriyaki or soy sauce or something. Eat it plain, and it has a farty aftertaste. Anyway, plain Wow Bao Cauliflower Rice has a farty aftertaste. There, I said it.
Pretty much the same. Cauliflower isn’t as bland as rice, but it’s bland enough that most sauces will bury the flavor. (It probably helps in my case that I don’t mind the flavor of cauliflower. Somebody who dislikes cauliflower might find the flavor more noticeable.) And the texture of cauliflower “rice” is close enough to rice to serve the same purpose.
Well, cauliflower is pretty farty tasting by nature. I like it ok, as a component of crudite and what have you. My question is what about cauliflower pizza crust and other things that are supposed to be made of something else?
I don’t eat much rice (like, years between eating any) but I’d be down for cauliflower rice any time. I’ve tried to make it before and it’s hard to make. It’s messy and gets everywhere (sort of like small foam beads).
So if it was an option for a dish at a restaurant or if I could get it frozen and use it (which they do now!) I’m down for it!
Cauliflower pizza crust is ok. It doesn’t taste like whatever your favorite crust tastes like, and it can still stink like cauliflower (like when cooking an Oprah-brand frozen cauliflower crust pizza) BUT it has a good enough taste and if you’re craving what’s on the pizza more than you’re craving good crust, it’s a great substitute.
Same goes for cauliflower mac & cheese. If you’re really just craving the cheese sauce, you can’t go wrong with the cauliflower base.
I make fried rice with it that the whole family loves. Usually as a side for pork steaks. I’m not going to sit down and eat it as a meal but as a veggie side it works great. I also do spanish rice as a side for tacos.
Like the OP says, it works really good when substituted for rice in a multiple ingredient recipe. A vegetable/protein/sauce + riced cauliflower is pretty much what I have for lunch every day.
I don’t think of it as cauliflower rice, I think of it as riced cauliflower. I use it in soups and stews and in all kinds of things that just need a) cauliflower and b) some more/different texture.
I should state as a disclaimer that I love both cauliflower and broccoli, so the form of it matters very little.
I’ve always hated cauliflower, but like you said I can manage it in its riced state when buried with another flavor. In my experience there’s a fairly narrow cooking window during which the riced cauliflower has a reasonable texture and doesn’t taste too much like cauliflower.
I’ve had a cauliflower crusted pizza (which I had to top myself), but haven’t tried the rice. I do agree that the goodness of the crust depended entirely on the quality of the toppings. It did fall apart easier than other crust alternatives I’ve tried. And I tasted absolutely absolutely no hint of the cauliflower flavor, which was actually disappointing to me, as I love cauliflower.
I’ve had frozen riced cauliflower from the grocery store, and thought it was a fine side dish. I’ve made a riced cauliflower crusted pizza, and I thought that tasted fine, too, although it wasn’t much for structural integrity. Full disclosure, though, I like regular cauliflower, as long as it is buttered or cheesed up enough.
I’ve never tried this but it sounds very interesting to me. I very much enjoy the flavor of cauliflower but I detest the raw texture of it. How is riced cauliflower typically cooked assuming it’s cooked at all? I’m guessing it’s hard to go too far wrong with doing an extremely fine chop on a head of cauliflower followed by a light steaming? Do you have any suggestions for a cauliflower rice newbie?