This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Crispy Kung Pao Cauliflower. Cauliflower battered and baked and tossed in spicy kung pao sauce. Super hot Appetizer for gameday. Vegan Recipe. Can be gluten-free with gluten-free breadcrumbs. Double the kung pao sauce for larger cauliflower or to serve over rice.
Sundays are shaping up for only one thing these days, Gameday! And all that excitement and 4 hours of tv calls for delicious finger food.
These crispy kung pao cauliflower bites are just that, crispy, spicy, juicy, hot, and super fun. Bake the cauliflower, make the kung pao sauce. Arrange the cauliflower in one layer in a serving plate/bowl. Drizzle the sauce just before serving.
The dish can also be served with rice or other cooked grains. The recipe is for snack kung pao cauliflower bites. Double the sauce to serve over rice, or if you have a good large cauliflower head. The sauce can get hot depending on the chilies you use. Taste before drizzling over the cauliflower. If too hot, make another batch of the sauce without the chilies and mix. For a quick recipe, toss cauliflower in salt, cayenne and oil and bake until done, or cook in a pan with a splash of water until tender, then toss in the sauce. Serve with a jar of cold water. 🙂
Whats your favorite spicy gameday food?
More Asian recipes from the blog
- Massaman Curry Veggies GF
- Sweet and Sour chickpeas, broccoli and peppers. GF
- Celery Black Pepper tofu GF
- Kung Pao Lentils GF
- Lentils & Veggies in Thai Peanut Sauce GF
- Chickpeas in Firecracker sauce with crunchy salad. GF
- Crispy Orange Cauliflower. GF
Spicy Crispy Kung Pao Cauliflower Recipe
Ingredients
For the Baked Crispy Cauliflower
- 5 tbsp corn starch , or other starch
- 6 tbsp bread crumbs, use gluten-free crumbs to make gf
- 5 tbsp or more water
- 1/2 tsp cayenne, use a 1/3 tsp for less heat
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp roasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
For the Kung Pao sauce:
- 1 tsp oil
- 8 to 10 dried red chilies, chinese red chilies, or arbol or cayenne, or use california red for less heat
- 1/2 tsp coarsely crushed sichuan peppercorns, or use a mix of coarsely crushed black pepper and red pepper flakes
- 2 to 3 tbsp chopped cashews or peanuts
- 4 to 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 2 tbsp scallions, chopped
Sauce mix
- 2.5 tbsp low sodium soy sauce/tamari, use certified gluten-free sauce to make gf
- 1.5 to 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp chinese rice wine, optional
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp water, use 1/2 cup for more sauce
- 1 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Chop up the cauliflower and keep aside. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F / 220ºc. Mix the cornstarch breadcrumbs, and the rest of the ingredients to make a batter. Let the batter sit for 10 seconds to thicken if it isn't thick. The cornstarch continues to thicken the batter, so as soon as it is a good not too watery consistency, start dipping the cauliflower in the batter, tap to drop excess and place on parchment lined baking sheet. If the batter thickens too much while working, add a tsp or more water and mix in and continue.
- Bake for 30 minutes or longer until the florets are cooked through. Check with a toothpick/knife
- Meanwhile make the sauce. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the red chilies and peppercorns and cook until the red chilies are fragrant, but not overly brown, or someone starts sneezing. (For more heat, break some of the chilies into half and add to the skillet.)
- Add the nuts and mix for a few seconds. Add the ginger, garlic, reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook until the garlic is golden. 4 to 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add in the scallions, and 2 to 3 tbsp finely chopped green peppers or other veggies if using and mix in. Increase heat to medium. Cook for a minute.
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl and add to the skillet. Continue to cook until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens slightly. 2 mins. Carefully taste and adjust salt, sweet and spice. If the sauce is not hot enough, break a few of the chilies open or add in red pepper flakes to taste and mix in.
- Arrange the baked cauliflower in a shallow bowl in one layer. When ready to serve, Drizzle the sauce over each floret. Serve.
- To store, store the baked cauliflower and sauce separately. Heat the sauce, pour over the florets. To serve with rice/cooked grains, double the sauce mix and bring to a boil to thicken, toss in the cauliflower and serve immediately over rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Richa! This was such a great recipe, thanks so much for posting! It turned out great, and I got a ton of compliments from meat eaters at the party I brought it to. I think the best compliment I got was a guy who was literally scraping the serving spoon off to get the last bits of the sauce!
I do have a question though- for the batter do you mix the dry and the wet ingredients separately and dunk the cauliflower in the wet mixture first and then the dry? I ask because I mixed them all together and I felt the batter mixture wasn’t really sticking well to the cauliflower. Thanks!
Hi Laura, I did not have that problem. If the batter thicken too much, then it might not stick well to the cauliflower. It seems like this batter is not predictable for some who have tried it. i will rework the recipe in the next day or so for an easier batter. For a super crispy coating, use the batter plus breading from the crispy tofu recipe on the blog.
YUMMY! This recipe was so good! It was very spicy, i’ll probably won’t break the red peppers in half next time, but still very good. Can’t wait to make it again.
yes, it does get spicy with the broken chilis. you can break 1 or 2 and keep the rest whole and also reduce the cayenne in the batter.
Sorry I just want to clarify:
¼ cup + 1 tbsp corn starch or other starch
that means 1/4 cup of cornstarch + another tbsp of cornstarch? that seems like a lot of cornstarch?
or is it 1/4 cup water and 1 tbs cornstarch
same for ¼ cup + 2 tbsp bread crumbs
1/4 cup bread crumbs + another 2 Tbs breadcrumbs
or 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbs breadcrumbs
many thanks
Yes its about a 1/3 cup starch. You can use half flour half starch. It makes a crisp coating on the cauliflower.
Yes, that is 1/4 cup breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp more breadcrumbs.
No, water is an ingredient on a separate line. Each ingredient has its own line.
You can also use the flour based batter + breadcrumb coating from this post. Add cayenne to the batter. https://fettabbau-trim.today/2016/02/crispy-tofu-with-sweet-chili-sauce.html%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thank you so much! It came out amazing! The hubby ate the whole plate 😀
yay! awesome!
I made this last night and it was amazing. I also cooked up some tofu on the side for protein and drizzled the sauce over that-awesome too. I’m recommend doubling the amount of sauce for future recipes though- it was so tasty, I just wanted more.
Awesome!
I think cauliflower is an underrated vegetable. Kung Pao sauce is always delicious. Great combo 🙂
Soooooooo good!
Thanks a lot for this! I made it tonight… made some little changes (it would have been too spicy for me the way you make it), and it was perfect.
Great!!
I didn’t like the batter, but I really liked the sauce. I’ll make it again using a different batter or just roasting the cauliflower.
You can use a plain batter or breading of choice or just plain roasted cauliflower. What did you not like about the batter? Did you make any changes?
I just made it and it was so good! I’m going to make it a regular thing!
yay!
I made this 2 nights ago, and my husband and I both loved it. He could not stop thanking me. Last night I asked him to grab some buns on his way home for our dinner, and he forgot the buns but showed up with two more heads of cauliflower. Guess what we’re having for dinner tonight? Your Kung pao lentils are also a favorite. Thanks!
Cauliflower and buns definitely are interchangeable 🙂 🙂 Happy cooking!