Crispy Kung Pao cauliflower
The sauce used in the Kung Pao lentils is the perfect addition to crunchy baked cauliflower florets. When I made the recipe, I was amazed at how easy it was to gobble up an entire cauliflower! The bite size of the florets and the contrast of textures (crunchy + sticky umami sauce) makes it the perfect appetiser. Be mindful that it needs to be eaten straight away, as the textures will degrade after refrigeration or cooling down.
Recipe inspired from Vegan Richa.
Ingredients
- Kung Pao sauce
- 1 tsp oil (5g)
- 1 tsp dried chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp ground Szechuan pepper or black pepper
- 50g coarsely chopped peanuts or cashews
- 15g crushed garlic
- 1 tsp ginger paste (5g)
- 40g finely chopped green capsicum, or celery
- 80g soy sauce
- 40 mL rice vinegar
- 25g raw sugar
- 1.5 tsp cornstarch
- Crunchy baked cauliflower
- 80g wheat flour
- 50g cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 180 mL water
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 120g breadcrumbs, preferably panko style
- oil spray
- 590g cauliflower florets
Instructions
- Kung Pao sauce
- Heat up a small pan over high heat, and quickly toast the peanuts/cashews. Set aside and reserve.
- Lower heat to medium and add the oil and fry the garlic, ginger, and capsicum for a few minutes.
- Add chili flakes, Szechuan pepper, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. Keep cooking until sugar is dissolved and vinegar evaporated, stirring constantly.
- Dilute the cornstarch in a bit of water, and add to the sauce. Mix well, and turn off heat.
- Crunchy baked cauliflower
- Preheat your oven at at 200°C (fan on).
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder.
- Add water and mix to make a pancake-type batter. If it is too thick, add more water to reach desired fluidity.
- In another bowl, put the breadcrumbs.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Dip the cauliflower florets into the batter one by one, removing excess batter on the side of the bowl, then dip them in the breadcrumbs. Carefully place them on the baking paper, making sure to space them so they don't touch each other.
- Spray them with oil, and bake for ~25 min. At regular intervals, run a fork through some florets to check if they are done, as the cooking time highly depends on your oven.
- Put the baked cauliflower florets in a large serving dish, and pour the heated Kung Pao sauce on top.
- Serve immediately! This dish doesn't keep well and needs to be eaten straight away :)