If you fancy making something a bit more special than your regular meals, then this roasted Korean Cauliflower Wings recipe is perfect! The homemade sticky soy sauce is so indulgent and super easy to make, too.
It was my parents’ 35th wedding anniversary last weekend. They couldn’t go out for a meal due to UK lockdown. So, I gave myself the challenge of recreating the ‘restaurant experience’ at home. I cooked a three-course vegan meal for them. I cook at home regularly. But I wanted to make something that was fancier. Since it was for a special occasion. It was a difficult task as my dad is a hardcore meat eater and supercritical of vegan meals. So, I had to do a lot of research!
I chose Asian/tropical theme for the three-course dinner as these are flavours my parents usually only eat when they go out to restaurants. For this post, I’ll focus on what I made for starters. After much research and amalgamation of recipes, I decided that these baked Korean Cauliflower Wings would be my best bet for a show-stopper starter! They’re inspired by chicken wings in that the florets look like chicken wings once cooked. And the sticky sauce is similar to what you would expect from Asian-style wings.
This Korean Cauliflower Wings recipe is relatively straight forward. This is in comparison to many other cauliflower recipes I’d come across. This is because it doesn’t require a multi-stage process to coat the florets. It’s an absolute messy nightmare trying to dip battered food in breadcrumbs! The sticky sauce is super simple to make. And I will definitely be making this again to use in other Asian recipes rather than buying inferior and more expensive shop-bought versions!
To make these cauliflower wings authentically Korean you can use Gochujang paste instead of Sriracha. Gochujang paste is a Korean hot chili paste. Whereas Sriracha is more Thai. However, this is harder to find in general supermarket retailers, so if not Sriracha is fine.
Ingredients
- For the Sticky Sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic or 2 tsp garlic paste
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp agave syrup
- 2 cm grated ginger
- 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar/rice vinegar
- 2 tsp corn flour
- 1-2 tbsp water
- For the Cauliflower
- 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into equal sized florets
- 65 g plain flour (about half a cup)
- 3 tbsp corn flour
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- a sprinkle black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- 110 ml water (roughly half cup)
- For the cucumber salad
- 1 cucumber, finely sliced into ribbons (I used a peeler)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 lime, juiced
- 10 g fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar/rice vinegar)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- a pinch black pepper
Instructions
- For the roasted cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 180 C and line a baking dish with baking paper.
- Mix the plain flour, cornflour, black pepper and salt in a bowl
- Combine the water, sesame oil and garlic paste in a separate, then add to the dry ingredients
- Continue to stir until there and then quickly add in the cauliflower florets (it will thicken over time otherwise). Tumble with your hands until the cauliflower is well coated
- Transfer the cauliflower to the baking tray, trying not to pour too much batter in or else this will stick all of the florets together once cooked
- Bake for 25 mins until golden. Meanwhile make the sticky sauce.
- For the sticky sauce
- Add the soy sauce, sriracha sauce, agave syrup, sesame oil, grated ginger, garlic and vinegar in a small pan. Heat on medium.
- Meanwhile, mix the two tsp cornflour with two to three tbsp water to form a paste. Once the sauce boils slowly add in the cornflour and stir. If the sauce is too thick add in a bit more soy sauce
- Once the cauliflower is cooked pour over 3/4 of the sticky sauce and tumble with your hands. Return the cauliflower to the oven and bake for a further ten mins to crisp up and caramelize.
- Once cooked, brush over the remaining sauce on the cauliflower.
- Serve with extra sriracha sauce and the cucumber salad
- For the Cucumber Salad
- Combine all the liquid ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine
- Add the cucumber and coriander in a bowl and pour over the liquid mix. Add in the salt and pepper and tumble to combine.
If you enjoyed my cauliflower wings recipe, try making this macaroni salad for your next cookout. Or grill up these homemade black bean and beet burgers!
This recipe was republished with permission from Basil and Vogue.
