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Oh, my love for cauliflower grows leaps and bounds every time I cook with it! There’s none such vegetable so versatile and adaptable to almost any cooking method you want to put to use, or any flavour your want to infuse it with. It has such a mild flavour on it own, it can easily pick up the flavours of the other ingredients you use in the cooking process. Take this dish, for instance! The flavours of the fresh ginger and garlic, and the aroma of the sesame oil, really shine through in this dish.
I must confess, this is basically a General Tso’s Chicken recipe that has been converted to a vegetarian option using cauliflower rather than chicken. I could have named the dish General Tso’s Cauliflower, but I can’t say it. I’m serious… I know how to say it, but whenever I do, it wants to come out of my mouth with a strong pronunciation of the letter T.
In addition to that, I wanted to distance myself from Tso since it really has no merit! The dish is named after General Tso Tsung-tang,a Qing Dynastygeneral and statesman, although there is no recorded connection to him. Moreover, descendants of General Tso still living in Xiangyin, when interviewed, say that they have never heard of such adish. I digress.
As you can see from the pictures I’ve included, the batter for this fried cauliflower is quite light. The batter is thick enough to provide a crispy coating and to protect the delicate nature of the vegetable itself. If you were to deep fry cauliflower without a coating, you risk overcooking it and it falling to pieces. Oh, and the addition of the sesame seeds to the batter adds such a wonderful texture to the already crunchy coating!
4.40 from 28 votes
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Fried Cauliflower in Garlic and Ginger Sauce
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Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Author Lord Byron's Kitchen
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces, plus sliced onions for garnish
- vegetable or canola oil
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch, the baking soda, salt, 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil, black pepper, 1 1/4 cup of water, and 3/4 cup of flour. Mix together well.
Add the cauliflower florets and toss to coat.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of flour and the sesame seeds over the coated cauliflower. Lightly toss to coat. Set aside.
In a small sauce pan, bring to a slight bubble, the following ingredients: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, grated ginger, minced garlic, dried chili flakes, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and one cup of water. Stir well.
When the mixture comes to a slight boil, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of water and mix well, add that mixture to the sauce pan. Next, toss in the green onions and stir to combine. Reduce to a simmer and allow to thicken.
In the meantime, heat the vegetable oil in a deep pot to 375 degrees. (You can also use a deep fryer if you have one.)
Carefully place the coated cauliflower florets into the hot oil. Fry each piece until golden brown - about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the oil and allow to drain on a paper towel lined baking sheet.
Once all of the pieces are fried, increase the temperature of the oil to 385 degrees and re-fry the nuggets of cauliflower for another 30-60 seconds. This will provide a deeper colour and a better crunch. This step is completely optional!
Lastly, plate the cauliflower and spoon the thick, hot sauce over top. Garnish with the sliced green onions and a few sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
EDIT: I love it when another blogger replicates or makes their own version of a recipe inspired by one of my recipes. My awesome blogger friend, Whitney, did a take on this recipe with shrimp. You should take a look at it too! Here’s the link: Quick & Easy Spicy Pineapple Shrimp
Reader Interactions
Comments
Great appetizer idea. One of your best pics too!
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Peter. 😉
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Ramona W says
Wow, this really has taken cauliflower to another level. I love to use it as a substitute for mashed potatoes and in curries, but never thought to do an Asian dish like this! If you didn’t tell me it was cauliflower, I would have thought it was battered chicken from the photos. Great idea and recipe! 🙂
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Ramona! I’ve been on a cauliflower kick and I’ve been experimenting with different ways of using it as a meat substitute. It’s amazing how versatile it can be!
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Brian Jones says
Ah Byron you have excelled your self again, this dish looks awesome… The batter sounds great and I love caulflower, especially at this time of year when vegetables are pretty few and far between.
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thanks, Brian. Vegetables are plentiful for me (I have a grocery store right next door!), but I can completely understand there not being many in your neck of the woods. When your harvest is ready next fall, you’ll have to make some of this!
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Brian Jones says
Haha, we do have grocery stores although not next door… Most of the local stores sell seasonal goods but we can pretty much get anything we want if we shop a little further from home. Although there is little point in us making a lifestyle decision to grow what you eat and then when Mother Nature takes a break we run to the local big supermarket 😉
This time of year our vegetable consumption is what ever we can store for winter, so potatos pumpkins, Onions, Carrots etc etc… Although Cauliflower and Sprouts are still hanging on out there in the garden 😀
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WhitBit's Kitchen says
The batter on this looks divine! I think I am going to try this with shrimp. I’ve got a Chinese New Year post coming up, and this is just the type of batter I’m looking for!
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Looking forward to seeing your shrimp version!
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This looks fantastic Brian! I would never have guessed this was cauliflower – and that sauce looks unbelievable:) I love the flavor of general Tso’s sauce!
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Paige. 🙂
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Whitney says
UGH These are making my mouth water! I’m in love with the versatility of cauliflower too — I have got to get some and try this recipe — I’ve never fried it, but you know I love some fried food — and since its a vegetable, there’s not as much guilt! 😉
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
You think just like me! 🙂
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Hillary Reeves says
Omg completely with you. I kind of sneeze whenever I order General Tso’s cause I have no idea how to say it ahah
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
See AlsoLow glycemic eating made easyHahaha – I just avoid saying it and point to it on the menu!
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cookbook says
Fried Cauliflower in Garlic and Ginger Sauce i like it i want to try at home and thank you for sharing 🙂 i sure my son very like 🙂 thank you success for you
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you. 🙂
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goodiegodmother says
If only the cauliflower at the store didn’t look so sketchy today. :-/ I’m trying lots of new veggie recipes right now, and I think my husband would go for this one because we love this flavor profile… and you know, fried food is comforting when it’s chilly and grey!
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Nothing worse than sketchy cauliflower! I’ve been there. I once saw cauliflower wearing a his pants too low, had a bandana on, and I could see the key to his Harley hanging from his belt loop. It was far to sketchy for me. I had to go to another store. 😉
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Camila says
This recipe looks amazing! I have a huge ginger root and some tofu and wanted to try a nice ginger sauce, so I’m def going to use this one tomorrow! Next time I’ll try with cauliflower. Loved your recipe 🙂
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Camila. 🙂
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Tracey says
I made this last night to go alon with our fried rice and pineapple chicken, and it was delicious! I didn’t add quite as much red pepper flakes as it called for because my young children don’t like spicy food, but I left enough that there was still a hint of spice.
The sauce was delicious (I kept sneaking more near the end to dip the fried cauliflower in). This is definitely going to become a staple for when we make Chinese food!Reply
byronethomas@gmail.com says
That’s great, Tracey! Thank you for dropping by to share your thoughts. I love hearing from readers. 🙂 I’m with you on the sauce – it was delish!
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Erica says
I was just wondering what the serving amount is for this recipe? I didn’t notice it on there.
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Erica… I served it with a few other sides, and I was able to get 4 servings from one head of cauliflower. It’s great with sautéed green beans!
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Jake Bates says
Hey I made this recipe and it was extreeeemly salty for some reason. I am positive i followed the recipe but I think there may be a problem with the batter recipe. Also, the batter had to be watered down because it was too thick. I think perhaps the baking soda added some saltiness. I suggest adding 1-2 teaspoons of salt and baking soda instead of 2 whole tablespoons of each.
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Jake. I think you mis-read the recipe. The recipe states 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. If you used “2 whole tablespoons of each” then that would certainly explain the saltiness.
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Rebecca Walker says
This is delicious! Just made it this afternoon for an appetiser and it is just perfect. Thank you!
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
It’s been a while since I’ve made this. Thanks for reminding me of this one, Rebecca. 🙂
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Aunt finucane says
I am confused with step 3 recoating the cauliflower with flour & sesame seeds; sesame seeds was going to be the garnish; step 1 you have sesame oil, water & dry ingredients that the cauliflower gets tossed in which is step 2!!
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
The first step is coating the cauliflower with the wet mixture and then you toss with the dry mixture to seal the coating. Trust me, it works. 🙂
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Christina says
Made this tonight. The taste was there. The recipe had a lot of steps, and everything was turning out fine. Until I got to the part where you put the cauliflower back into the hot oil to make it “extra crispy.” Now if working fast food in my teen years taught me anything, returning fried food back into the oil can make it less crispy, and can actually make it mushy. But I ignored my experience and followed the recipe. It was a mistake that I regret. The cauliflower turned into a mushy mess. Threw it into the oven to try and restore the crispiness I was after. I would tackle this recipe again, however, I would skip the double frying method. Everything had a nice crisp before I put it back into the hot oil. So yeah, the recipe was a disaster for me. But it’s a recipe that still tasted good and that I’d be willing to attempt again.
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Janis says
I wonder if instead of deep frying, you would see the same (or similar) result using an air fryer.
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Janis, I have never used an air fryer in my life, so I could not say.
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Gail Petrie says
This looks great! But I think the recipe should say 3 tablespoons – not teaspoons – cornstarch. Also, it might be helpful to divide the recipe into two components, one for the cauliflower and one for the sauce.
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byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Gail. I have just updated the amounts for the cornstarch. I’m planning to re-make this and update the photos soon. I’ll update the recipe card at that time. 🙂
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Chantelle says
Can this same batter also be oven baked?
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