General Tso’s Cauliflower

Healthier Chinese Food! General Tso’s Cauliflower: A vegan, gluten free and low fat alternative to take out. 

this Recipe

Back in the day, ordering Chinese food was a rare treat. It may have been the fact that as an Italian/Danish family living in the South, eating Chinese food happened as often as a confirmed Big Foot sighting. Our options usually consisted of pizza or… pizza.  Therefore, grabbing Chinese food was a really big deal. We were never the family that ate out a lot, and grabbing food to go was an even rarer occurrence.

So, it makes sense that when we did have it, we went all out. I swear my sisters and I would order just about everything on the menu including a double orders of wonton soup and General Tso’s. Because nothing is more tragic than having to share wonton dumplings or General Tso’s. 

While my take-out preferences have changed significantly since high school (Thai everything, Chinese never), I will always associate Chinese food with my sisters. A few weeks ago, I got a random craving for General Tso’s and wanted to try to recreate it my way- sans chicken and without loads of oil and sugar.

Going through my usual suspect list of meat-swaps, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, I remembered how much BL and I loved my cauliflower buffalo wings and decided to start there.

O.M.G. Crispy yet tender, Cauliflower General Tso’s was born! I heard a rumor that 2015 is slated to be the year of the cauliflower, to which I say- bring it! Panko in one hand, spicy sauce in the other, I am armed and ready. 

The beauty of cauliflower is it’s blank canvas and relatively neutral flavor. Perfect to be dunked in a crispy batter, baked until golden and then covered in the best spicy, slightly sweet sauce out there.

Sure, it’s cauliflower but no one is thinking of vegetables after a bite of this dish.

To get every bite as flavorful as the next, make sure you are coating your cauliflower really well. I am using a three part mixture that allows every surface to be coated in crispy panko crumbs. Since I want to bake these to keep the fat down, I am using panko instead of regular bread crumbs. I think that panko crumbs keep their texture much better after baking than traditional crumbs. For a gluten-free version, you could make your own using gluten-free bread, just make sure you keep some texture.

Dip each floret first in flour, then in milk, and finally into the panko. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake! Then toss, coat and chomp!

If you have any leftovers, keep the cauliflower florets and sauce separate. To heat, place the cauliflower back on a baking sheet and let warm in the oven until hot. Heat the sauce and pour on. 

If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking! 

General Tso’s Cauliflower

• Author: Alex Caspero
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner, Entree, Main
• Cuisine: Chinese

Description

Healthier Chinese Food! Battered and baked cauliflower florets tossed in a spicy-sweet General Tso’s Sauce. Recipe inspired by Pinch of Yum

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• Author: Alex Caspero
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner, Entree, Main
• Cuisine: Chinese

• Author: Alex Caspero
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner, Entree, Main
• Cuisine: Chinese

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets, stem removed
• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs (see above; use homemade gluten-free or store bought gluten-free crumbs for GF version)
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat (or regular flour- use gluten-free flour for GF version)
• 1 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce or Tamari
• 1/4 cup apricot jam
• 3 tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp. corn starch
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Place the milk, breadcrumbs and flour in separate shallow bowls.
3. One at a time, dip the cauliflower floret into the flour, then milk, and then the panko breadcrumbs.
4. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes until golden brown.
5. While the cauliflower is cooking, whisk together the water, soy sauce, apricot jam, hoisin, cornstarch, and vinegar.
6. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add in the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir until fragrant.
7. Whisk in the soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until thickened, about 5-7 minutes.
8. Remove cauliflower from oven and coat with sauce.
9. Serve with brown rice and garnish with sesame seeds and/or scallions.

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