This vegetarian spin on the Chinese-American restaurant classic is easy to make at home. The chicken has been replaced by crispy fried cauliflower and orange zest has been added to the sweet and tangy sauce to lend brightness.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Active: | 50 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil, plus more for frying
- 3 whole dried red chiles
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 strip orange zest, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons plus 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound cauliflower, cut into large florets or wedges (about 4 cups)
- Steamed rice and orange slices, for serving
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir in the chiles, scallions, garlic and orange zest and cook, stirring, until the garlic has turned golden and the chiles brighten, about 1 minute. Add the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and 3 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar dissolves completely and the sauce become fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir 2 teaspoons cornstarch into 1/4 cup cold water in a small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk the mixture into the boiling sauce until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
- Fill a large Dutch oven halfway with peanut oil and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and set aside. Beat the eggs in a large bowl with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add the cauliflower florets to the bowl and toss with the egg mixture. Sprinkle in the remaining 3/4 cup cornstarch a little bit at a time until the cauliflower is well coated.
- Fry the cauliflower in 3 batches; gently place the cauliflower in the hot oil and cook, keeping the pieces separated and adjusting the heat as necessary to keep the oil temperature at 350 degrees F, until light brown and crisp, about 6 minutes. Remove the cauliflower with a spider or slotted spoon and set on the prepared wire rack to drain briefly. Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl while it is still hot and toss with the sauce to evenly coat. Transfer to a serving plate and top with scallions. Serve with the rice and orange slices.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 305 |
| Total Fat | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 44 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 16 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 93 mg |
| Sodium | 733 mg |
Reviews
Made this exact per directions and it turned out fantastic! Family loves it better than the kung pao cauliflower found on this app, and that one’s delicious also. If you’re trying to cut back on meat, or don’t eat meat, this is a delicious meat alternative dish to satisfy the “I need Chinese takeout” cravings.
WAY not enough sauce, for one person let alone two. I doubled the sauce recipe and still not enough to coat all the cauliflower. Flavors in sauce good but not enough and really weird consistency (gelatinous). Wish this would have turned out better.
Loved the recipe! My cauliflower was crisp. I would say to do both the egg mixture and cornstarch when you’re ready to add to the fryer instead of doing it all at once, then trying in 3 separate batches. Sauce was great. As with anything season it to your taste.
This recipe was actually very tasty and the cauliflower makes a great substitute for chicken!
Cauliflower was soggy. The batter, corn starch ,eggs, salt and pepper didn’t help. Seems like the corn starch batter gave me stomach ache. However the sauce was yummy. I would not make this again.
I made this tonight and it was so good! I didn’t have any orange/orange zest and it was still delicious. Next time I will definitely add something to give it some spice.
This was perfect. Simple and amazing. My whole family loved it
i did not have scallions, but it tasted fine.
Only one word Yummmm
Really great recipe! It tasted great! One comment is that the amount of sauce was not that much, so I might advise making a little more than the recipe calls for.