One of the great things about New York City is that no matter the time, day or night, you can get any type of food you’re craving delivered right to your door. (I once got a pizza delivered at 4:30 in the morning after a night out!)
Before I started cooking every night, one of my favorite spots was this Chinese place in the West Village. You could get a spring roll, some sort of protein and veggie mixture, rice, and a drink for $7.99. Not that they needed to, but they even threw in free delivery to sweeten the deal. The only problem with this was the next day when I went into my fridge, the leftovers had always turned into a congealed blob of jelly.
Was it the MSG they added? Or maybe just all the fat and oil that had initially made it taste so good, but now had me envisioning this gelatinized rock stuck in my stomach.
Yuck.
So, as I always do –I sought out to make my own healthier version so that I wouldn’t be worried about the Tupperware-o-gelatin wreaking havoc on my digestive system.
I love this dish because its jam packed with a variety of veggies and the low-fat protein of shrimp pairs really well with it. I use cauliflower rice instead of actual rice but you could easily sub in brown or even white rice if you prefer. This meal takes no time at all to make and my favorite part is that because everything gets cooked together the cleanup is a snap!
Yields: 6 cups
Prep: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
15 shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp soy sauce
¼ cup stir fry sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil,
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small white onion, sliced
½ cup carrots, sliced
1 yellow pepper, cored and sliced
1 red pepper, cored and sliced
4 mushrooms, sliced
1 (generous) cup small broccoli florets
1 cup snow peas (~20)
~10 grape tomatoes, halved
3 scallions, sliced
2 cups cauliflower rice
1. Peel shrimp, devein, and add soy sauce and stir fry sauce to marinate.
2. Heat sesame oil in pan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, yellow and red peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli. Stir veggies so oil coats, then cover and cook ~ 5 minutes.
3. Add snow peas, grape tomatoes, and scallions. Cook ~5 minutes.
4. Add shrimp and its marinade and cook until shrimp are pink throughout.
In separate pan, cook cauliflower rice until it just starts to brown. Top rice with vegetable mixture and drizzle with any remainder soy sauce and scallions to serve.
The Cook’s 2 Cents:
· Cauliflower rice has a ton of moisture in it. I would recommend cooking it in a separate pan to get rid of all that extra water prior to dousing it with sauce.
· If choosing to use brown rice instead of cauliflower rice, keep in mind it’s a little more filling. So, I would say the serving size would be a little less. I’d also use 1 cup of rice instead of 2 cups cauliflower rice.
Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 2 cups
Servings Per Recipe: 3
Calories: 274 Fat: 11g Sodium: 964mg Carbs: 51g Fiber: 8g Sugars: 14g Protein: 26g
