Steak and Asparagus Fried Rice (With Whole30 Option)

I get my love for fried rice (by which I mean any type of rice fried up) from my dad. This man can turn a bowl of rice and some seasoning into deliciousness in no time at all. I created this Steak and Asparagus Fried Rice while trying to reinvent some leftovers for dinner after one of my husband's grilling sessions (I season all the meat and he grills)! We had leftover steak, sausage, asparagus and some other grilled veggies. I cooked some rice and added the left overs to it and viola! I've finessed the recipe into a dish that doesn't require leftovers but just know that you can do so much more with leftovers than just serving them as is.

How I made it Whole30

When I am on a Whole30 round and craving some of my family's favorite meal I just swap out non compliant ingredients with compliant ones and enjoy the same flavorful meal as when not on a round. This recipe is one of those that I've adjusted to be Whole30 compliant just by swapping rice with riced cauliflower and choosing compliant teriyaki sauce instead of soy sauce and sugar.

Preparing the Steak

For this dish I used a lovely piece of rib-eye steak, which is my steak of choice. The first thing I do when preparing this dish is, season my steak. I LOVE McCormick's Montreal Steak. It's what I put on steaks, when I want a simple but flavorful steak. That and some olive oil of course. I let this sit for about 15 minutes while I prepped everything else.

Does this work for Whole30

McCormick's is Whole30 compliant. It is gluten free and all of the listed ingredients are compliant. But if you want to make your own steak rub, try making a teriyaki steak marinade. I season my steak with coarse salt, granulated garlic, ground ginger, Chinese 5 Spice and Whole30 compliant Teriyaki sauce. They cook your steak however you like. In my cast iron skillet is my cooking method of choice, but on the grill works too.

Rice Cauliflower and Jasmine Rice

Jasmine rice is perfect for making fried rice. If you've never used it give it a try, you won't regret it.  I warmed about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot large enough for cooking rice. Then I added the rice, soy sauce, garlic power, onion powder and about 3 cups of water. I don't add salt because there will be plenty of salt in the soy sauce and steak seasoning. To cook the rice, I brought it up to a boil then reduced the heat to low and let it steam until rice is fully cooked. Then I fluffed the rice up with a fork. Follow the directions on the back of the rice to know how much liquid you will need to cook the rice as this may vary depending on the brand. You could probably also cook your rice in a rice cooker if you have one.

When on Whole30 my riced cauliflower or choice is frozen cauliflower. I go into detail about why I prefer this over fresh cauliflower rice in this Chicken Fried Rice Recipe.

Bring on the Veggies

Next, I prepped my veggies. I used half a bunch of asparaguses (is that the plural of asparagus?). Be sure to get the really skinny asparaguses, it will make a difference in whether it stays crunchy or not. I cut the asparaguses into 2 inch pieces, after cutting off the thick, hard part of the stems at the bottom. I then julienned 2 carrots and cut that into 2 inch pieces. I also Julienned an orange bell pepper and cut into 2 inch pieces so that all of the veggies had the same size. I used a mandolin slicer for my carrots and peppers. Those things are the best kitchen tools for perfectionists! Then, I chopped my green onions into small pieces and cut the green stems into diagonal piece, because I'm fancy like that. Finally, I peeled and chopped the ginger into 1 inch pieces (2 inch pieces of ginger would be a bit too much). If you don't love biting into pieces of ginger (the way I do) you can simply grate the ginger or chop it up into tiny pieces.

To cook the steak, I used my trusty cast iron skillet, but a large frying pan will work just as fine. I warmed 2 tablespoons of olive oil with medium heat. When really hot, I added the steak. I cooked the steak for about 4 minutes on each side so that it could be medium (it will cook some more when I add it to the veggies and I don't want it to overcook). When it has cooked for a total of about 8 minutes, I removed it from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board, before cutting it into strips that are about 2 inches in length.

Bring it together

In the same pan I used for the steak, with all of that glorious pan juices, I added my chopped veggies (reserving the green parts (stems) of the green onions, for later). I also added a tablespoon of brown sugar and a tablespoon of soy sauce. I sautéed the veggies for about 5 minutes, tossing them around every minute or so to avoid burning.

Next, I added the steak to the cooked veggies, And let that sauté for a few minutes, then I added the rice and the cut green onion stems. I tossed it all together until the rice, meat and veggies were mixed well together. Finally I sautéd (fried up) the rice mixture for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. The end results were simply delicious! I hope you give this dish a try the next time you are feeling like spicing up your fried rice!

Making it Whole30 Compliant

When on Whole30 I skip the soy sauce and brown sugar and use a compliant coconut aminos teriyaki sauce instead. I've even started doing this when not on a round, as I am trying to be mindful of soy and refined sugar in my diet.

The Steak and Asparagus Fried Rice Recipe (See below for the Whole30 Cauliflower Fried Rice Version)

Printable Recipe Card

Steak and Asparagus Fried Rice

Althea Brown

A one pot dish with juice steak and crunchy veggies stir-fried with seasoned rice.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 5

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 cups of jasmine rice and enough water to cook the rice
• 1 8-10 ounce rib-eye steak
• 2 tablespoons McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning
• 1 tablespoons onion powder
• 1 tablespoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• ½ bunch of asparagus cut into 2 inch pieces
• 2 carrots julienned and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 3 heads of green onions chopped and separated (white part from green part)
• 1 tablespoons peeled and chopped ginger
• 1 orange bell pepper julienned and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

 

• Season the Steak: Coat steak with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then add 1 tablespoon of McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning to each side and let marinade for 10 to 15 minutes
  
  
• Cook the Rice: In a pot large enough to cook rice, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Then add rice, onion powder, garlic powder and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix together then add enough water to cook rice. I used 3 cups of water based on the cooking instructions on the package for my rice. Bring the water up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let steam until rice is fully cooked and all the liquids have cooked off. About 20 minutes.
  
  
• Cook the steak: In a large frying pan or cast iron skillet, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. When oil is hot add steak. Cook on each side for about 4 minutes. Then remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into 2 inch pieces.
  
  
• Bringing it together: Return the pan that you cooked the steak in to the heat. Add chopped veggies to the pan with all the pan juices from the steak. Reserve the green stems of the green onions to be added at the end of the dish. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the veggies. Sauté/stir fry the veggies for about 5 minutes then add the steak. Mix steak with veggies and stir fry for about 3 minutes. Then, add the cooked rice and reserved green onions. Toss together and stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot!

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Whole30 Cauliflower Steak Fried Rice

The Whole30 Cauliflower Steak Fried Rice Recipe: