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 (0.5 tsp) cayenne use a 1/3 tsp for less heat
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 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 (8 to 10 ) dried red chilies chinese red chilies, or arbol or cayenne, or use california red for less heat
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 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 (1.5 to 1 tbsp) rice vinegar
- 1 tsp chinese rice wine optional
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup (63 ml) + 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.
I too had issues with the batter. The cauliflower was larger, so I increased the batter ingredients, but it just was not right. I used arrow root instead of corn starch. I don’t think the measurements seem enough for a head of cauliflower. It was not crispy, but still tasted great.
I’m excited to try this. I semi regularly made Kung Pao Chicken back in the day. Could this work w frozen Cauliflower? Just asking cause I could make it right now without going to the store, if only frozen could work. 🤔
sure! just give them a little pat dry to remove excess moisture so that the batter adheres
This was so amazing. I’ll be using this cauliflower with other sauces in the future. Way to go! The batter was very thick after 10 mins so I just added 1/2 cup of water and I only had red pepper flakes (no chiles or peppercorns) and no scallions but it was still Vvery good!
thank you! i’m glad you liked it
Hi! I made this, and it is to die for – thank you, Richa 💛 Question: would it still be good if I omitted the oil from the batter, or used just the small amount of sesame oil? How about the sauce? Do you think it would be fine without the oil?
Hooray!! Sure – just omit the oil from the batter + breading. Dry toast the nuts and the chilies and set aside. Then saute the garlic and rest in broth and add the chilies and cashews a bit later when adding the mixed sauce.
Thank you, Richa!
This was so easy to make and really delicious. I will definitely be making it again.
Hi, this looks delicious – but I’m confused about the second sauce mix listed. What is this for, please? Thanks, Sarah
Thanks Sarah – that is mixed separately in a bowl and added to the simmering sauce – See step 6.
You have no idea how long I’ve been searching for a great Kung Pao sauce only to be disappointed..until I made this one. It is PERFECT. It hits all the criteria that I was searching for but previously missing. I am so glad I found this recipe. Thank you so much!!!
wow – that makes me so happy! thank you kindly
Excellent!
Thank you for the rave review! 🙂
This was soooo good! I used crushed red pepper instead of whole ones. I also used a tip from another reviewer who dumped all the cauliflower into the batter and coated that way. Really, really delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious – this recipe is definitely a keeper!
It was very tasty. My family loved it. I cooked some extra but it’s all gone!
Oh, my…!!! I think 2020 is going to be a yummy and healthy new year using all of your fabulous recipes as my base. Thank you, Richa!
I made Kung Pao chicken for the carnivores in my family and made this version for me. It was very tasty. The cauliflower crisped up just enough in the oven. The paprika added some extra zing. I look forward to trying some of your other plant based recipes. Thanks!
awesome!
This recipe turns out amazing but it is so much more confusing than it needs to be. Why are there two sauces, both called “sauce” in the instructions?
This will be a new staple. We used jalapeños for spice because we didn’t have the dried red chilies or Sichuan peppercorns and it still had a wonderful flavor. I needed quite a bit more water to make the batter thin enough to dip the cauliflower in. I also think our sauce was a little thicker so I would stir the cauliflower in the sauce to coat it instead of drizzling. Thank you for sharing!
Hi, would like to take this to a party but how far in advance can I cook the cauliflower..?
Thanks
you could even cook it up to 2 days in advance, just refresh in cold water to stop the cooking and store inthe fridge
Recipe looks so good! I was wondering if it could possibly be prepared oil free?
yes omit the oil from the batter + breading. Dry toast the nuts and the chilies and set aside. Then saute the garlic and rest in broth and add the chilies and cashews a bit later when adding the mixed sauce.
SO DANG TASTY!! This was seriously amazing!
awesome!
Fabulous recipe!! The sauce was perfect and same for the crispiness and flavors of cauliflower where I had batter. I had trouble making the breading adhere to the cauliflower uniformly. I used whole wheat Panko and I added extra water but it wasn’t runny. Any suggestions? I’d definitely prepare again but I’d like more uniform breading on the cauliflower. Thanks for all of your fabulous recipes. I have your cookbooks and I refer to those frequently!
I have a peanut and tree nut allergy. Will the recipe be just as good without the nuts? Will any seed substitutions work?
yes, try some sunflower seeds for the nutty flavor
What a tasty recipe! I’m not usually a cauliflower person, but this is phenomenal! I made double batter and sauce, thinned the batter a tiny bit, and only dipped the floret heads in the batter. I had the perfect amount of batter for this method. This recipe is going in my regular cycle for sure. Thanks!
I made this tonight and it was so good! I love the sauce. (Because I can’t handle very much heat, I skipped the chilies altogether and halved the chili flakes). I think I would probably halve the cayenne in the batter next time too. But I’m pretty wimpy. 🙂
I had similar issue with the batter as some commentors above- it didn’t seem very thick but it didn’t really stick to the cauliflower and i ended up having to make a second batch. I was thinking next time I’ll try doing the dry bowl and wet bowl to make it more like a nugget coating and coat dry, wet and back to dry again. I’m thinking I might need to double the batter.
The sauce was delish- I definitely want to to double that next time so I can really drizzle it on.
This was so good. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. (I love that it was baked cauliflower too),
This cauliflower recipe is AMAZING!!!! Sooooo delish! So many yummy flavors…I’ll be making this again and again!
Hi!
This recipe is absolutely delicious!
I made it with arrowroot starch instead of corn. I did add a 1/2 cup of water and reduced the amount of starch to get the same consistency as in the video.
Such a clever recipe to batter the cauliflower. After baking it, it comes out perfectly! My husband and mother love this recipe!!
I made this using chunky peanut butter in the place of the peanuts. Sooo delicious!
This might be my husband’s favorite recipe. Dipping the florets was a pain, though. Instead, I make the batter in a large bowl and just dump the raw cauliflower in it and stir it until each piece is coated. Works great and is so much faster and easier!
Awesome!
I have your book and want to try cauliflower. Is there another sauce I could use on the crunchy baked cauliflower?
yes you can use the sweet and sour sauce and orange sauce(for less heat), firecracker or buffalo sauces, manchurian sauce (so good), and even peanut sauce. lots of options inthe book
This was amazeballs! Thanks for the recipe!!! =)
yay!
I had saved this recipe some time ago and finally pulled it out and made it for supper. It is very tasty and I really enjoyed it immensely! The crunch and spice were great with that nice umami taste! I doubled the sauce since I served it with rice, but not much was to be had. However, it was more than enough to coat the cauliflower and if there were more sauce it would be too overpowering. It was a hit with my two grandsons, as well. They are not big on vegetables and trying yet another new dish was off-putting for them, but they did agree they liked it! 😉 Another recipe I will put on my “tried and true” list to make again!
Just tried this for dinner as my husband looks for crunchy stuff when we eat out. I subbed flour for the breadcrumbs and needed a little extra water. Delicious. Probably loses crunch when stored, but he seems to be downing the extra cauliflower as he does dishes. I’ve asked for everyday vegan for my birthday, but am recommending it on blogs even before I get it. Is this recipe in the book?
Yes this recipe is in the book. Its modified a bit for super runhy cauliflower bites that you can toss with various sauces like kung pao, orange, sweet and sour, firecracker and more. 🙂
Hello
Like 2 other people in here I could not understand the recipe
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp corn starch?
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp bread crumbs?
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water?
What does it mean?
I saw your answers but left me just as clueless
Can you be more specific or if possible just put the total amount of the ingredients without the + and adding more
Example
1/4 cup of corn starch
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of water
Or is it
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1 tbsp water
Thank You in advanced !!
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp corn starch = 5 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp bread crumbs = 6 tbsp breadccrumbs
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water = 5 tbsp water.
i’ll update it in tbsp
Perfect I understand it now , Im not a chef so i did not know 1 cup equal 4 table spoons
It is much clearer
I appreciate the help
Thanks!!
Actually 1/4 cup (60 cc) equals four tablespoons.
This was amazing!!!!!! My sauce didn’t go very far, but it was so easy I just whipped up another batch.
Been vegetarian for over 10 years now, and this is without a doubt the best Kung Pao that I’ve had.
Thanks!!
How would you recommend substituting tofu for the cauliflower in this recipe?
Yes, Press the tofu, cube then toss in the batter and bake. Dress with the sauce and serve.
I’ll try that sometime soon, but I LOVE the cauliflower! Nice to know about using tofu, too.
Great dish! I used Panko instead of plain bread crumbs- I doubled the batter ingredients and quadrupled the amount of water.
My husband and I made this last night and it was delicious! We did cut open several of the peppers (and even ate a few) so it was rather spicy, but oh so good! Thank you so much for the recipe, we will be making it again!
Awesome! yes once you break the chiles, it can get hot quickly
This was very yummy! Light but rich with flavours will be making this again soon!
This was really delicious. I had a large cauliflower and tripled the recipe. It was perfect! Everyone loved it. Will make this again for sure. This was our main dish that I served with rice and steamed broccoli. Looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow!
Can I make a quicker version of the KP sauce using sriracha and omitting the chili peppers and scallions? Also, I have seen some recipes for this sauce using sesame oil (a taste I like)? Would this work?
You can adjust it with any flavor you like. It will taste fine since most of those flavors go well together, but will not be like this Kung pao sauce flavor profile.
This is one of my favourite vegan dishes I have ever made!!!!!! Thanks 🙂
We had this for dinner, it was so good! Swap this for tofu and some stir fried veggies over rice, heaven. Thanks for all your recipes. Love love them!
Awesome!
I used to eat meat. I used to eat sea creatures. Sushi used to be my favorite “food.” Been vegan for 4 years now and THIS is one of my FAVORITE recipes…definitely the best Kung Pao anything I’ve ever had. I’ve shared it with friends who eat meat and they agree! Share this recipe and bookmark it!
Wow, this sounds so delicious! I would eat it as a meal with some sauteed veggies and rice. 😀
This looks fantastic! Can I use panko breadcrumbs instead of regular bread crumbs?
yes!