Orange Cauliflower Recipe, completely chicken less!
Now days, seems like everyone trying to eat more healthier and adopt more vegetarian/plant based meals in their everyday lives.
I’m definitely one of those people and I truly enjoy vegetarian/plant based food. Honestly, Asian cuisines are so easy to turn it into vegetarian meals and I’ve done many recipes like this, so check it out down below if you are interested! ☺️
Today, another vegan recipe (so many of you guys requested!! Thank you so much!), Orange Cauliflower by Asian at Home, you know it will be delicious!
I love all kinds of veggies, there is no vegetables that I don’t eat. Cauliflower is definitely not the most familiar veggie for Asian cuisine but it’s definitely one of the most trendy vegetables!
I love making meatless dish like this with firm tofu, mushrooms or impossible meat so if you want to try this recipe other than cauliflower, you can feel free to switch the “protein” part. 😉
The sauce is really the killer though, perfect balance of savory, sweet and tangy… um, um, um!
Are we ready to start the recipe? Because I am!
Chop 2 cloves of garlic and about same amount of ginger finely.
Pull leaves off base of cauliflower and cut around the stem. Break the cauliflower into large forgets with your finger then cut them into smaller florets as bite size.
Toss the cauliflower florets, 1 tsp soy sauce and 1/8 tsp white pepper in a mixing bowl and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sambal, 1 tbsp raw sugar, 2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce, 1 tsp hoisin sauce, fresh juice from 1 juicy orange, 1 tbsp rice vinegar and 1 tsp corn starch in a mixing bowl.
You could use orange zest if you want to. But for my taste, orange zest fight with soy sauce flavor and create a bitter taste in the dish. I love orange zest but not prefer for this this.
Set aside.
I love using vegetarian oyster sauce! It’s made with mushroom and have tons of umami flavors that you won’t miss regular oyster sauce! You can find them easily at local Asian grocery stores or online. 😊
Preheat frying oil to 350°F.
Whisk 1/2 cup chickpea flour, 1/3 cup rice flour, pinch of salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Pour 3/4 cup ice cold water into dry mixture and whisk until there’s no clumps.
Coat each florets with batter and carefully drop one piece at a time into preheated frying oil. Make sure florets don’t stick to each others and not crowed pot. Do 2 to 3 batches as needed. Fry cauliflower florets until it’s full cooked, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Remove florets from oil and place on a baking pan lined with cooling rack.
Heat a large wok over high heat, add 3 tbs[ cooking oil, chopped garlic and chopped ginger. Stir fry until you can smell aroma, about 30 seconds. Stir sauce mixture with a spoon, before add into wok because starch sunk down on bottom of bowl. Pour sauce mixture into wok, stir and boil for 1 minute.
Toss in fried cauliflower florets quickly then remove from heat and garnish with sesame seeds.
Serve orange cauliflower immediately.
Enjoy!
EASY Orange Cauliflower Recipe
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small florets
- 1 tsp soy sauce, plus 2 tbsp
- 1/8 tsp white/black pepper
- 1 tbsp sambal
- 1 tbsp raw sugar
- 2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- 1 tsp hoisin sauce
- Fresh juice from 1 orange
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1/3 cup rice flour
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tsp chopped ginger
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Toss cauliflower florets, 1 tsp soy sauce and 1/8 tsp white pepper in a mixing bowl and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce, sambal, raw sugar, vegetarian oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, orange juice, rice vinegar and corn starch in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Preheat frying oil to 350°F.
Whisk chickpea flour, rice flour, pinch of salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Pour 3/4 cup ice cold water into dry mixture and whisk until there’s no clumps. - Coat each florets with batter and carefully drop one piece at a time into preheated frying oil. Make sure florets don’t stick to each others and not crowed pot. Do batches as needed. Fry cauliflower florets until it’s full cooked, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove florets from oil and place on a baking pan lined with cooling rack.
- Heat a large wok over high heat, add cooking oil, garlic and ginger. Stir fry until you can smell aroma, about 30 seconds. Stir sauce mixture with a spoon, before add into wok because starch sunk down on bottom of bowl. Pour sauce mixture into wok, stir and boil for 1 minute.
- Toss in fried cauliflower florets quickly then remove from heat and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
8 comments
Hi Seonkyoung. How much oyster sauce do we put? In this recipe it says 2 tablespoons but the video says only 2 teaspoons? Thanks!
It should be just 2 tablespoons I apologize.
Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
My sauce turned out super salty though. I’m not sure what I did wrong. Could it be the brand of soy sauce (Lee Kum Kee) that’s saltier than most? I ended up having to put at least a quarter cup more of sugar and more orange juice just to make it palatable.
I’m rating your recipe a 5 though, because I’m sure it was something I did.
It was really easy to cook up and the cauliflower treatment is delectable!
Thank you again 🙂
Hello! I was wondering if you could use all purpose flour instead of chickpea flour.
You should be okay with all purpose flour.
Made this for lunch. So yummy! You don’t miss meat at all. The cauliflower is incredible and super filling.
Hi Seonkyoung. Loved the flavours, but the fried cauliflowers became soggy as soon as they were combined with the sauce. Any suggestions as to how to keep them crispy while coated?
Hi, I want to try this recipe but I don’t want to fry the cauliflower. Can I just cook the cauliflower and skip the frying part?