Cauliflower Wings In Sweet & Spicy Sticky Sauce

If you love cauliflower just as much as I do, I promise you that this is going to be your No1 recipe from now on. If you are however, one of those that wonders how on earth can someone find cauliflower tasty, I also promise you that I am going to change your mind.

I N G R E D I E N T S :

Batter ingredients

• 1 whole cauliflower
• 1 cup of flour (any)
• 3 tbsp of cornflour
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1/2 tsp of garlic granules (optional)
• 1/2 tsp of onion granules (optional)
• 1 cup of plant based milk (I usually use oat or soy milk)
• 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce
• Breadcrumbs (optional but I highly recommend this step as it makes the cauliflower nice and crispy)

Sauce ingredients

• 1 tbsp of olive oil for frying
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 50ml of darks soy sauce
• 50ml of water
• 1 tsp of tomato puree
• 1 tsp of chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp of brown sugar
• 3 tbsp of maple syrup
• 2 tbsp of white whine vinegar
• 1 tbsp of cornflower + 1 tbsp of water
• Juice of 1/2 lime

M E T H O D :

STEP 1: Cauliflower

Start off by breaking apart the cauliflower into as equal pieces as possible, following the natural stem.

In a bowl, add the flour, corn flour, garlic and onion granules (both optional but not necessary), a good pinch of salt, dash of dark soy sauce and plant based milk (or water). Whisk mixture together until it’s nice and smooth. At this point you can start preheating the oven.

Transfer your cauliflower florets into the mixture and coat really well.

If you want your cauliflower pieces to be crispy then add them into some breadcrumbs mixed with 1 tbsp of cornflour. This step is however completely optional and still tastes amazing just as it is.

Transfer coated florets onto a tray lined with baking paper, leaving gaps in between to allow all pieces crisp evenly. This will also prevent them from sticking to each other. Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden and crisp on 220°C degrees. Make sure to turn all pieces half way through.

STEP 2: Sauce

Add a drizzle of olive oil to a frying pan and start to fry finely chopped garlic and ginger. Then add in all your sauce ingredients: soy sauce, water, tomato puree, brown sugar, maple syrup, chilli flakes and white wine vinegar.

Whilst the sauce is cooking, mix some cornflour with water, creating a cornstarch slurry which will help thicken up the sauce. At this point your sauce should be perfectly sticky! Finally add your cauliflower pieces and coat every single one of them very well.

Rice:

To make fluffy and perfectly cooked rice, measure 1 cup of rice (serves roughly 3-4 medium sized portions) to 2 cups of water. Rinse rice well until water runs clear, then transfer into a pot. Add water, 1 bay leave, good pinch of salt and 3 buds of cloves. Cover with a lid, bring to boil, then turn the heat to low and cook until all water evaporates.

Remove from the hob and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Garnish and decorate to your liking. I used left over rocket to add a pop of green, placing rice in the middle of the plate, placing sticky cauliflower wings on top, finished off by sprinkling some sunflower seeds (usually I would use sesame seeds which I didn’t have this time)

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