This vegan sticky sesame cauliflower is batter dipped and baked (instead of fried!) before being drenched in a sweet and spicy sesame sauce and served over a bed of rice.
We have a bunch of Chinese vegetarian restaurants in Philly. You guys know of these places? They typically have what appears to be a normal Chinese restaurant menu, but everything is vegetarian, and it’s usually crazy good.
I discovered these places about fifteen years ago, and at some point after that I caught part of some public radio broadcast where people were discussing them and how good the food was, how close the taste came to the conventional, meat-based versions of the dishes, and the fact that they were usually made from seitan. Someone said something along the lines of, “Well if you deep fry it and cover it in sugary sauce, of course it’s going to be good.” I had to agree.
Eventually I discovered that deep-frying wasn’t necessary. You can totally fake that. Now I find out cauliflower works just as well as seitan. My head is spinning.
As much as I love cauliflower, I have to say, when you un-fry a bunch of little cauliflower florets and cover them in a super flavorul and (refined sugar free!) just sweet enough sauce, they don’t taste like cauliflower, which is okay in this instance.
I think this probably comes pretty close to versions of this dish made with chicken, buuuuuut I haven’t had chicken in a long time, so I’ll just have to promise that it tastes super good.
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Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cups unflavored soy or almond milk
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 large cauliflower crown broken into florets
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp. sriracha
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 2 scallions chopped
- toasted sesame seeds
- cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° (preheating is crucial here, so don't skip it). Use about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a large roasting pan or oven-safe skillet.
- Stir milk, flour, salt and baking powder together in small bowl. Dip cauliflower florets in mixture to coat, shaking off any excess batter. Arrange in a single layer in roasting pan or skillet.
- Bake 10 minutes.
- While cauliflower bakes, combine soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and sriracha in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir cornstarch and water together in a small container until cornstarch is fully dissolved. Add to soy sauce mixture and stir to blend. Remove from heat.
- Remove cauliflower from oven and flip. Lightly brush florets with remaining tablespoon of oil. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes more, until they begin to sizzle and lightly crisp.
- Remove from oven and pour sauce over florets. Return to oven and bake 3-4 minutes more, just until sauce becomes very sticky and coasts florets.
- Serve over rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions.
Recipe Notes
You can also skip the rice and serve the cauliflower as a wing-style appetizer.
Sachi says
December 26, 2017 at 11:56 PMI love this recipe. I’ve made it several times and it’s always a big hit with my family. BUT, the cooking times are completely unrealistic. It always takes me at least twice as long (and I cook a lot, so I’m usually pretty quick in the kitchen). It’s as if measuring, chopping, taking out and putting away the ingredients were not included in the time calculations… not to mention clean up! It’s worth the time because it’s so good, but it’d be nice to have a more realistic estimation of how long you’ll spend making it.
Alissa Saenz says
December 29, 2017 at 10:03 PMThanks for the feedback! I’ll definitely take it into consideration!
Ana says
December 30, 2017 at 12:02 AMHi Allisa,
This sticky sesame cauliflower looks so tasty. Will have to give this a try. The recipe for the batter looks great. Broccoli would also go well I think to but cauliflower is such a great veggie. :) I never thought to use maple syrup to sweeten, its a good idea.
Great recipe!
Alissa Saenz says
January 1, 2018 at 9:53 PMThanks Ana!! I think broccoli would be an awesome way to switch things up!
Lee says
January 8, 2018 at 7:06 PMThat is all kind of crazy delicious. I forgot the sriracha but it still tasted amazing. Some crisp, much sticky. Mmmmm.
Alissa Saenz says
January 12, 2018 at 10:22 AMI’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks Lee!
Tera Hart says
January 11, 2018 at 4:09 PMI followed the recipe exactly, but the breading didn’t work for me either – it fell right off the cauliflower. But the sauce was great so next time I will probably just skip the batter altogether. For the sauce, you should continue to heat and stir after adding the cornstarch. It needs to come back to a boil, then it will start to thicken. It only needs a light boil for a coupleminutes to thicken enough to stick to the cauliflower. Suggested cook times worked perfect for me. The texture of the cauliflower was just right – firm, but not crunchy.
Alissa Saenz says
January 12, 2018 at 9:40 AMThank you for the tips! I actually posted a similar recipe recently, but with a different breading – you could try that breading with this sauce if you like: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/sticky-lemon-cauliflower/
Michelle says
February 5, 2018 at 11:10 PMlove this! I made it tonight, with just a few adjustments (added about ¼ cup chickpea flour to thicken batter, used some brown sugar since I only had a tiny bit of syrup left, ended up using more starch than the recipe called for- maybe because it was arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch?) Anyhow, tiny, minor adjustments. The recipe is awesome :) We had enough sauce for two small heads of cauli, and then to add to sautéed bell peppers and baby bok choy to add to the meal. My husband couldn’t stop raving about it. Thanks!! (now will you come clean my kitchen?! it’s a mess!) ;)
Alissa Saenz says
February 8, 2018 at 4:37 PMYay!! I’m glad you enjoyed it! And OMG, I know the feeling – my kitchen is a perpetual mess!!
Aj says
February 7, 2018 at 9:05 PMI am in the middle of making these and already off to an odd start. Your milk to flour ratio turns to goo like literally paper mache is waterier (made up word:) )
I am gluten free so I used gluten free flour so I’m going to still try and hope your comments are true and it actually tastes good.
Maybe I’m doing something wrong it it doesn’t work with normal flour?
I’ll let you know how it turns out
Alissa Saenz says
February 8, 2018 at 3:59 PMSorry it’s not working out for you! I’m guessing it’s the gluten-free flour. I haven’t tried the recipe with anything but wheat flour, so that’s the only one that I know for sure works. Most people who have trouble actually say the batter is too runny.
Jaclyn says
November 12, 2018 at 11:34 PMSO great, the sauce reminded me of the guilty take out flavor!
If anyone out there is reading this – an AIR FRYER makes this cauliflower even better and no oil was needed. We just got one and are obsessed with trying every recipe in it. Did not disappoint :)
Alissa Saenz says
November 13, 2018 at 9:29 AMI have to get ahold of an air fryer so I can try that out! Thanks Jaclyn!
Lindsey Roach says
February 7, 2019 at 4:35 PMWould this recipe work with tofu? Thank you!
Alissa Saenz says
February 8, 2019 at 6:14 PMIt should! Try cooking the tofu using this method: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/teriyaki-tofu/