Crispy Baked Sweet and Sour Cauliflower

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Sorry I ghosted you last week, I was enjoying some incredibly special time in England with my daughter. The trip was conceived as a 16th birthday for Mattes to visit her dear friend Bella who moved to the Cotswolds three (?) years ago. Along the way, it morphed into a combined 68th birthday trip for the two of us Scorpios (I’ll pause here while you calculate how old I’m turning this week!!!) because the trip was as much as a gift to me to visit with my friend Flora, peek in on her life and explore London through the eyes of my daughter.

I’ll apologize again because I realize that you are probably expecting a Thanksgiving recipe right about now but to be honest, the holidays have full on snuck-up on me. Anyone else? I just can’t believe that Thanksgiving is next week and then Hanukkah and Christmas are hot on its tail. So maybe consider this post a break from all the pumpkin, sweet potato and turkey recipes that are bombarding your in-box and learn a delicious batter-bake technique that you can use in many different ways. I’ll get onto the point…

This recipe for Crispy Baked Sweet and Sour Cauliflower from The Foodie Physician tastes very much like Kung Pao Chicken but less cloyingly sweet and with cauliflower substituting for chicken, as made clear by the title. If your go to method of cooking cauliflower is tossing it in some olive oil and roasting in the oven, then there is admittedly an additional step or two but I would argue that the resulting battered bits of deliciousness are well worth the minimal effort.

The original recipe suggests dipping the individual cauliflower florets into the batter before placing the baking pan. I lost patience with this method midway through and chose to dump the cauliflower into the bowl of batter and then scoop them out with a slotted spoon (shaking off the excess batter in the process). This worked well for me and I will suggest you do the same in the recipe below. The sauce that you will prepare stovetop as the cauliflower is baking in the oven uses ingredients found in most pantries, making this an easy side dish for any night of the week.

If you are paying close attention, you might notice that this recipe is similar to that for Roasted Sriracha Cauliflower Bites with Peanut Dipping Sauce which a/reminds me how good that recipe is; b/makes me realize that if you don’t mind sticky fingers, Crispy Sweet and Sour Cauliflower can also be served as an hors d’oeuvres; and c/if you batter and bake cauliflower florets, heck, toss them in any sauce of your liking and they will be finger licking good! Enjoy.

Crispy Sweet and Sour Cauliflower
Print Recipe

Crispy Sweet and Sour Cauliflower

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbls olive oil
  • 1 c flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 c milk any type
  • 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
  • 1/4 c low sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 1/4 c pure maple syrup
  • 2 Tbls rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1 tsp grated garlic
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • pinch chili flakes
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • sliced scallions optional garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a baking sheet with the olive oil.
  • Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk in the milk until a smooth batter forms.
  • Add the cauliflower florets to the bowl of batter and toss until coated. Remove individual florets with a slotted spoon, shaking off excess batter before placing on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. 
  • Bake in the oven for 20 minutes (or until golden brown), flipping them halfway through.
  • While cauliflower is baking, stir the soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and chili flakes together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. 
  • Stir the cornstarch together with 2 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl. Pour the mixture into the sauce and cook another minute or two until thickened. Remove from heat.
  • Pour the sauce over the cauliflower and toss to combine (alternatively you can serve the sauce on the side). 
  • Return the pan to the oven and cook another few minutes until the sauce starts to caramelize. Remove from oven. Serve the cauliflower garnished with scallions, if desired.