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Sweet-spicy-crunchy Gochujang Cauliflower can be served as an appetizer or an entree! Gochujang Cauliflower Wings make a perfect game day snack, or serve it over rice for a delicious, veggie dinner. Glutenfree Nutfree
This recipe has an amazing, spicy flavor and a crunchy texture without the need to deep fry. While you bake the cauliflower, prepare the sauce in a pan on the stove. Toss it all together, and enjoy!
If you’re not familiar with gochujang, it’s a fermented Korean red chili paste with a sweet and spicy flavor. It adds sweet heat and an umami flavor to all sorts of dishes and pairs perfectly with crunchy, baked cauliflower.
Why You’ll Love Gochujang Cauliflower
- Easy to make
- Baked, not fried
- Perfect, crunchy texture
- Full of flavor
- It’s naturally gluten-free
More Vegan Cauliflower Recipes:
Gochujang Cauliflower Wings
Ingredients
For the Baked Cauliflower
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch, or cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- a good dash of black pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped into equal-sized florets, about 4 cups
For the Gochujang Sauce
- 1/2 cup gochujang, , I use Mother-in-Law brand, use Glutenfree brand if needed . Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup for less heat
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce, ,use tamari for gluten-free
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with 1/4 cup of water
- green onion and sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
To Bake the Cauliflower
- Preheat the oven for 425° F/220° C. Line a baking sheet or baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients for the batter. Mix well, then add in the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Add in the cauliflower and toss to coat. The batter should be just thick enough so that it coats the cauliflower well, and it's going to be enough for the cauliflower. The batter keeps thickening as it sits, so you'll want to mix it in pretty quickly.
- Transfer the cauliflower florets to the lined baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes, or until cauliflower inside is cooked. Meanwhile, make your gochujang sauce.
To Make the Gochujang Sauce
- Add the gochujang, soy sauce, maple syrup, salt, and vinegar to a large skillet on medium heat and mix well.
- Mix the cornstarch in the 1/4 cup of water, and add to the simmering sauce mixture and mix well. Take off the heat as soon as the sauce thickens.
- Add your baked cauliflower to the skillet, and toss well to coat. Garnish with some green onion, or sesame seeds if you like. Serve with rice or noodles or in lettuce cups.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- cauliflower coating: we use rice flour, tapioca or corn starch, garlic powder, salt and pepper, water, oil, and sesame oil. Rice flour gives a nice crunchy coating. You can use all purpose flour as well but it won’t be as crunchy
- cauliflower cut into bite-sized florets
- gochujang sauce: a spicy Korean chili paste
- rest of the sauce ingredients: soy sauce, maple syrup, salt, rice or apple cider vinegar, and cornstarch mixed with water (to thicken)
Tips:
- Make sure you have your cauliflower ready to go before mixing the batter. The batter thickens quickly, so you want to toss the cauliflower into it immediately.
- When you spread the cauliflower onto the baking sheet, do it in a single layer, and try to make sure the wings aren’t touching each other.
How to Make Gochujang Cauliflower Wings:
First, cut the cauliflower into florets and gather your batter ingredients.
Mix the dry ingredients for the coating in a large bowl. That’s the rice flour, starch, garlic, salt, and pepper. Then, add the water and oils and mix until you have a smooth batter.
Toss in the cauliflower florets, mixing to coat them really well in the batter. The batter should be just thick enough so it coats the cauliflower well, and it’s going to be enough for the cauliflower. The batter keeps thickening as it sits, so you’ll want to mix it in pretty quickly.
Transfer the cauliflower to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer, making sure the florets are spread out and not touching each other. Bake at 425° F/220° C for 30 minutes.
While the cauliflower bakes, make the sweet-and-spicy gochujang sauce.
Add the gochujang, soy sauce, maple syrup, salt, and vinegar to a large skillet over medium heat and mix well.
When all of that is combined, mix the cornstarch in a quarter cup of water, then add that to the skillet, mixing again. As soon as the sauce thickens, remove the pan from the heat.
Add the baked cauliflower to the skillet, tossing to coat in that flavorful sauce.
garnish with green onions or sesame seeds, if you like. Serve with rice or noodles or in lettuce wraps
Storage and Reheating:
Store in a covered container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven at 350° F or in a pan on the stove. Do not microwave, because the breading will get mushy.
This recipe is absolutely delicious! 10/10! Had never tried gochujang before but boy oh boy what a taste sensation. The recipe was easy to follow and prepare. I had to use a little extra water and oil in the batter as it was too thick. I used 1/3 cup of the gochujang and that was plenty enough spice for us. I served the cauliflower bites on a bed of lettuce cups. Will definitely make this again and again!
Yay! So glad you liked it. I have many more recipes with gochujang in them:https://www.veganricha.com/#search/q=gochujang
Very tasty but my batter was thin so ran off the cauliflower on the parchment. Other then that we enjoyed it
Next time add a little more rice flour for a thicker batter.
Delicious every time! Spicy and crispy. Easy to prepare.
Yay!!
Very tasty and easy to make!
Trina
Yay! Glad to hear it.
This recipe has become a family favorite
So good to hear!
Delicious! My husband said these were the best cauliflower type wings ever.
Awesome!
I must comment on this recipe again. The batter inspired me to try other ideas. Last night was Pesto “tempura” cauliflower with polenta and tomato sauce.
Next will be Nashville Hot Cauliflower Wings w/Vegan Follow Your Heart blue cheese salad dressing, and a Preserved Lemon turmeric vinaigrette with
So amazing!
So fun!
This is the first time I have tried making anything with gochujang and I really enjoyed it. I think the next time I will use a little less because I found it a little too spicy but I ate it all anyway because it was so delicious.
It’s easy to adjust the amount of gochujang. Thanks for commenting!
Fantastic AND the leftover sauce was used to make a vegetable stir fry and sesame seed with air fryer crispy tofu.
glad you enjoyed!
This recipe is amazing. I made it to serve with your fantastic spicy peanut ramen [www.veganricha.com/spicy-peanut-butter-ramen]. It made more than I needed for the ramen, but we had no problem with the leftovers. The cauliflower was perfectly cooked, the texture from the coating was great, the sauce was perfect. I’ll be making this cauliflower again and again. Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
Awesome