Korean BBQ Cauliflower
Lightly battered and fried cauliflower gets coated with a sweet and salty sauce to make a tasty appetizer for any gathering.
Ingredients
- neutral oil for frying, canola or vegetable
- 1 head cauliflower, cut in 1 inch pieces
For the Batter:
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/4 cup soda water, or beer (I often used lime flavored soda water.)
For the Sauce:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon gochujang
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- water, as needed to thin the sauce
For Garnish:
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Wash and cut cauliflower into one-inch pieces. Set it aside. Add 2 inches of neutral oil (canola or vegetable) to the bottom of a Dutch oven over medium heat. Oil temperature should read between 350 and 375 degrees.)
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients for batter. Add the soda water (or beer) and mix until smooth. Add 15 pieces of cauliflower to the batter and stir to coat.
- Test the oil by gently dropping a small piece of cauliflower into the pan. If it sizzles, the oil is ready. One at a time, add about 15 florets of cauliflower coated in batter to the pan. Be sure to allow excess batter to drip off before dropping them in the pan. Cook cauliflower for 5-6 minutes, turning as needed.
- Once slightly golden, remove the cauliflower from the hot oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with an extra pinch of garlic salt. Repeat this process until all pieces have been fried.
- While the cauliflower is cooking, combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add a tablespoon of water as needed to thin the sauce. Use a brush to coat cauliflower with the sauce. Garnish with sliced green onions and white sesame seeds, if desired. Serve while warm. Recipe makes 6 servings.
Equipment
- 1 Dutch oven, or large saucepan
- 1 large slotted spoon, to remove cauliflower from oil
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 large bowl
Notes
TIPS for making Korean BBQ Cauliflower:
SAUCES- If you don't want the expense of purchasing sauce ingredients, simply use Hoisin sauce (Chinese condiment) in place of making your own Korean BBQ sauce. Add a splash of siracha to it and you'll have a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce with fewer ingredients and a similar taste. Teriyaki sauce (Japanese) can also be a tasty substitution if you are looking to use a sauce that you may already have on hand.
SEASONINGS- Use garlic salt in the batter and add another pinch of it to the cauliflower after frying. Cauliflower doesn't have much flavor on its own, so layers of seasoning is important for the best flavor.
BATTER- Mix the batter ingredients until there are no lumps and it is the consistency of pancake batter. After coating the cauliflower, be sure to allow excess batter to drip off before adding it to the hot oil in the pan. Adding one piece at a time to the pan will prevent the florets from sticking together.
Nutrition
Calories: 217kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 5gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 1243mgPotassium: 348mgFiber: 3gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 25IUVitamin C: 47mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 2mg