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Kung Pao Cauliflower

This Kung Pao Cauliflower is a tasty stir fry that's comforting, hearty, spicy, and satisfying. The Kung Pao sauce have an ideal mixture of sweet, salty and spicy taste. The recipe is gluten-free, vegan, low-fat, and oil-free.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword Kung Pao Cauliflower
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 2
Calories 266kcal
Author Brittany

Ingredients

For the Batter

  • 4 tbsp cornstarch
  • ½ cup plant-based-milk
  • ½ cup chickpea-flour
  • 1 medium head of cauliflower cut into bite-sized florets
  • ½ tbsp soy-sauce

For the Sauce

  • 2 tbsp rice-vinegar
  • 3 tbsp soy-sauce
  • 2 tbsp maple-syrup
  • ¼ - ⅓ tsp cayenne-pepper or 4-6 dried chilies
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • ½ tsp smoked-paprika
  • ½ cup of water

For the skillet

  • fresh chives chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • peanuts (optional)
  • ¾ - 1 tsp peppercorns
  • 1 small/medium bell pepper sliced into fine strips
  • 1 tsp sesame-seeds
  • 1 tbsp fresh-ginger minced
  • 2 tsp oil or water

Instructions

For the Batter

  • Preheat oven to 425°F then line a large-baking-sheet with parchment-paper.
  • In a large-bowl whisk together chickpea flour, cornstarch, soy-sauce and plant-based-milk. Allow it to sit for approximately a minute, then add the cauliflower-florets.
  • Toss till all cauliflower-florets are coated with batter. Transfer the cauliflower into the prepared baking-sheet and bake in the oven for Approximately 20minutes

For the Skillet

  • Heat oil or water in a skillet over low to moderate heat then add ginger, garlic, peppercorns. Saute for a minute, stirring often to prevent burning.
  • Then add bell pepper & saute using a lid for a further 5-6minutes, stirring frequently. Add additional water if needed.

For the Sauce

  • Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a medium or large bowl, combine soy sauce, water, rice-vinegar, smoked-paprika, sugar, cayenne and cornstarch. Whisk together.
  • Pour the sauce to the skillet. Bring to a boil then let simmer on low-heat for a minute. Add the roasted-cauliflower-florets and toss to coat.
  • Transfer back into the baking-sheet then bake for 10-15minutes if you like the cauliflower to be crispy.
  • Serve and enjoy with rice or rice noodles. Garnish with peanuts, fresh chives or sesame seeds (optional).

Notes

  • Use ¼ tsp, or more of cayenne-pepper or 4-6 dried chilies instead. Should you would rather dried chilies, add them into the pan and then fry together with peppercorns, ginger, bell pepper and garlic. Then eliminate the chilies before you pour in the sauce.
  • Soy sauce: Use gluten free if necessary or coconut aminos or tamari. You might even utilize low-sodium soy-sauce.
  • Chickpea flour option: I'd propose using gluten-free all-purpose-flour (or normal-flour or even gluten-free) rather than chickpea-flour (have not tried it out though).
  • Sweetener: You also are able to use a sweetener of choice, e.g. brown sugar, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc.