If you live in Los Angeles, chances are you’ve been to (or at least heard of) Tocaya Organica, a modern + healthy Mexican restaurant. I am truly obsessed with their Fajita del Rey bowl and have been dying to recreate it ever since I tasted it. After a few rounds of trial and error, I’ve managed to recreate the bowl without adding a ton of oil or unnecessary fats – and the taste is spot on!
Mexican Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower rice is tricky to perfect, but luckily I’ve figured out how to perfect the texture so it’s not too soggy or too crunchy. Here’s how:
- Use a frozen bag of cauliflower rice if you can – it’s much quicker to cook
- Sautée the onions and all the seasoning in olive oil first, then mix in the cauliflower rice and sautee for 5-6 minutes. cooking the seasoning first allows the rice to be more fragrant
- Don’t add water because the cauliflower won’t soak it up the way rice does – it’ll just get soggy and gross!
The fajita del rey bowl from Tocaya is customizable and is made with either cauliflower rice or jasmine rice – I went with the cauliflower rice to make this bowl as healthy as possible and to prove how yummy cauliflower rice can be! If you like this recipe, try my REFRESHING CUCUMBER SALAD which is a great base for bowls.
Seitan Chorizo
I love this recipe because it goes with everything – bowls, burritos, tacos, etc. It’s super easy to make and doesn’t require any obscure ingredients – you probably have them all in your pantry. Not only is it versatile, it has about 35g of protein in each bowl!
I’m pretty sure Tocaya uses Beyond Meat in their version, but I opted for seitan since it doesn’t have any chemicals or fattening ingredients. Beyond is okay once in awhile, but it’s best to avoid foods with ingredients you can’t pronounce as much as possible. If you have a gluten intolerance, crumble tofu (preferably high protein tofu!) and cook it using the same process. If you don’t feel like cooking seitan, Upton’s Naturals has a great seitan chorizo.
This fajita del rey bowl is truly delicious – I love Tocaya, but I much prefer cooking at home with ingredients I know I can trust as opposed to eating out which can be sketchy depending on where you go. This bowl is:
- Extremely filling
- Hearty
- Nutritious
- Packed with incredible Mexican flavors.
Enjoy!
Vegan Fajita del Rey
Ingredients
Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- 1 bag frozen cauliflower rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- fresh cilantro
Seitan Chorizo
- 1 container seitan
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Cheesy Black Beans
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup plant-based milk
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- sprinkle vegan shredded cheese optional
Bowl
- 1/2 tbsp chipotle veganaise
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1 juice of lime
- 2 tbsp pico de gallo
- 1/2 small avocado
Instructions
Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- heat olive oil on a pan. once hot, add onions and all seasonings
- after a few minutes, add your cauliflower rice. mix all ingredients well and keep covered. cook for 5-6 minutes stirring every minute or so
- top with fresh cilantro (the more the better) and store in an airtight container in the fridge
Seitan Chorizo
- drain and rinse a block of seitan and add to a large bowl. use a fork to crumble it as much as possible
- add all seasoning to the bowl and mix thoroughly. let sit for at least 20 minutes before cooking it on a pan for 8-10 minutes
Cheesy Black Beans
- drain and rinse your black beans and add to a pan with the plant-based milk and nutritional yeast. keep covered and cook until the milk has evaporated then roughly crush the beans with a fork
Bowl
- chop the peppers into thin strips and sautée with the onions and the juice of 1/2 a lime - save the other half to add to your finished bowl. keep covered and stir occasionally
- after 10-12 minutes, your peppers should be done and you can start arranging your bowl!
- I divide all the ingredients evenly between 2 bowls - if it’s just for one, store the remaining ingredients in an airtight container in the fridge
