Cauliflower has been risen to fame over the last couple of years and with good reason. This versatile food has been a staple in low carb & gluten free cooking replacing grains & wheat. In this dish however, the structured florets easily stand up to a light breading (baked or fried) and deliver a flavorful bite the mimics any popular asian meat dish. Whether you're leaning toward plant based eating, paleo or just looking to add more healthy dishes into you diet... cauliflower has you covered!
I prepared the cauliflower below two ways... both fried and baked. While the fried method produced a crispier more flavorful bite the baked was still FULL of flavor and a great option for reducing calories & fat.
Ingredients:
Dry Breading Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ginger powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp arrowroot
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk
1 tbsp Bobs Red Mill egg replacer
1 tbsp dijon mustard
Sesame Sauce:
1.5 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp thai garlic chili paste
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp rice vinegar (can be subbed with dry white wine)
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp soy sauce, tamari (gluten free) or liquid aminos (soy free)
1 tsp dry ginger powder
1 tbsp coconut sugar (or more honey/sweetener of choice)
1 head cauliflower
5 tbsp peanut oil (if frying)
Non stick spray (if baking)
Instructions:
Wash, destem & cut cauliflower into florets.
Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine all wet ingredients in a bowl.
A couple of florets at a time, dip in wet mixture, then toss in dry. Optional to repeat, double breading each floret. In my experience, if you are planning to fry the cauliflower, double breading is great and produces a really crispy nugget.
If Frying: Add Peanut Oil to frying pan and heat to high. Add one small floret to see make sure it immediately starts to fry to ensure that you're oil is hot enough. If the oil is not hot enough, the breading is absorb too much oil and be greasy. Add cauliflower to oil and flip when browned. When brown on all sides, remove and place on paper town to absorb excess oil.
If Baking: Spray baking sheet with non stick oil. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 20-25 mins turning florets once browned on the Botton ( half way through baking).
Both methods are great! Doing both and mixing together will add an extra yummy fried crunch while reducing the overall calories.
Sesame Sauce:
In a sauce pan, while the cauliflower is cooking, add all ingredients to pan and heat over medium heat to combine. Simmer for 5-10 mins to thicken sauce. Remove from heat.
Toss cauliflower in sauce & serve over rice, veggies, noodles etc! Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
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