Frying things at home is generally a real pain in the ass. How’s that for a recipe head note?
It seems that I almost exclusively do it when I’m trying to recreate something I’ve had at a restaurant. Nine times out of ten, it’s totally not worth it. But every once in a while I nail it, and then the recipe ends up here. That’s how we ended up with Fava Bean Falafel and Arancini. That’s how we ended up with General Tso’s cauliflower, or fried cauliflower tossed in a slightly spicy, slightly sweet sauce.
You may be familiar with General Tso’s chicken, a dish that can be found on Chinese restaurant menus throughout the US, but apparently is completely unknown to the Hunan province of China—the place it supposedly originated from.
Quite honestly, Chinese food is usually at the very bottom of my take out cravings, and so I have no deep or meaningful story to share. Except for not too long ago I tried General Tso’s cauliflower at Tavernakaya and well, that was that. It went on my list of things to try at home.
Last week’s CSA basket brought cauliflower, and thus it was finally time to give it a fry. That was a pun, I feel the need to point these out in case you missed it. I really wish I could see your face as you read this. Is anyone reading this?
Anyways – sauce comes first, then you batter and fry the cauliflower, then mix it all together and serve it over rice. You’ll likely never get the same level of crispiness at home as you do with a commercial grade frier, but it’s a pretty damn tasty anyways.
- 2 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 whole dried red chili peppers
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 cups + 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup rice flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 cup cold water, plus more as needed
- 1½ pound cauliflower, cut into 1 inch florets
- Canola oil for frying
- 2 cups jasmine rice, cooked
- 2 scallions, cut thinly on the bias, for serving
- Additional sesame seeds, for serving
- Heat canola oil in a wok over medium heat. Add ginger and let it sizzle for 15 seconds. Next, add garlic and dried red pepper. Stir, then pour in sake. After a few seconds, add in sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, and 2 cups water. Turn heat down to medium low and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of water and cornstarch, until a thick slurry forms.
- Slowly add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce while stirring constantly, and simmer for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, sesame seeds, and crushed red pepper and whisk until combined. Pour in water and whisk until a batter is smooth and coats the back of your spoon. If mixture is too thick, add an additional tablespoon of water.
- Pour canola oil in a medium-sized, heavy bottom saucepan until it is about 1½ inches thick. Bring oil up to 375 degrees (using a candy thermometer helps make sure the temperature is right).
- Once oil is at the right temperature, add cauliflower to batter. Working in batches, use a slotted spoon to transfer the cauliflower from the bowl to the oil, allowing the excess batter to drip off before dropping into oil. Fry cauliflower, rotating with a slotted spoon to make sure all sides are being cooked, until cauliflower is golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer cauliflower to a paper towel lined plate and continue frying additional batches.
- Right before serving, place sauce back on low heat until it is just warm. Transfer cauliflower to sauce and toss to coat. Serve cauliflower over jasmine rice garnished with scallions and sesame seeds.
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writes 20 Best Cauliflower Recipes - So TIPical Me1comprehensive
writes 1precisionJust an fyi…the Asian culture do not put chopsticks standing up in rice, it is a sign of death. So maybe a different angle would be better to showcase your dish?
writes LP