Vegan Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower

This Vegan Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower is so darn good!  This is what happens when you try something you’ve never done before, but let your imagination and creativity take over!  I was looking at General Tso’s recipes and Sweet and Sour recipes and Orange Cauliflower  recipes, but really didn’t like parts of all of them.  So I just started with the basis for General Tso’s and went from there.  I added additional spices and chili paste for the heat, the juice from an orange, some additional sweeting from maple syrup and brown sugar for added depth of flavor.  To bridge the spicy and the sweet, I used some cooking sherry and rice wine vinegar for balance.  Throw in some additional veggies over and above the cauliflower and WOW, WHAT A DISH!

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Vegan Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower

This is an awesome dish. It's a cross between General Tso's and Orange Cauliflower. It takes the best of both of these, the spicy and the sweet and combines it into a wonderful meal!

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Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: General Tso’s, Sweet and Sour

Servings: 6

Ingredients

THE SAUCE

• 1 Large Navel Orange Juiced
• 1/2 Cup Veggie Broth
• 3 T Soy Sauce
• 2 t Sesame Oil
• 1 T Rice Vinegar
• 2 T Cooking Sherry (or Shaoxing Wine if you can find it)
• 2+ T Chili Paste
• 2 T Maple Syrup
• 1 T Brown Sugar
• 3 T Corn Starch (use some of the liquid to make a slurry)

THE VEGGIES

• 1 Red Pepper Diced
• 1 Green Pepper Diced
• 4 Cloves Garlic Diced
• 2 T Fresh Ginger
• 2 Cups Broccoli Smaller pieces
• 5 Dried Red Peppers
• 2 T Oil
• 1 T Red Pepper Flakes

THE CAULIFLOWER

• 1 Head Cauliflower Bite Size Pieces
• 1/2 Cup Flour
• 1 Cup Non Dairy Milk
• 2 T Soy Sauce
• 2 T Egg Replacer (Bob's Red Mill) or Ground Flax Seed To thicken
• 2 Cups Panko Bread Crumbs
• 1 Salt and Pepper to taste

THE RICE

• 2 Cups White rice

Instructions

THE RICE

• Follow the instructions to cook the rice. It starts with 2 cups uncooked white rice.

THE SAUCE

• In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the corn starch. Mix well and taste. You add more Chili Paste for more heat, more Maple Syrup for more sweet or more Cooking Sherry to add a little tartness and balance.
• Once you have the flavor where you want it, in a small bowl, add the corn starch and a little of the liquid from the sauce and make a slurry. The corn starch should be dissolved. Pour it back into the sauce and set aside.

THE CAULIFLOWER

• Create 3 separate bowls for the cauliflower.
• BOWL #1 – Contains the cauliflower pieces. Add the flour and mix to coat well.
• BOWL #2 – Contains the non dairy milk, soy sauce and Egg Replacer. Mix well and let sit for a couple minutes to slightly thicken.
• BOWL #3 – Contains the Panko Breadcrumbs and salt and pepper.
• Once the liquid has set, take the cauliflower and place it in the liquid. Make sure it is well coated. Then place it in the Panko and coat well. See the next step for cooking options.
• I cook these in our air fryer. About 10 minutes at 375 degrees. You can also bake these in an oven. I would put the cauliflower on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes in an over. In both methods, the outside should be golden brown and crunchy.

THE VEGGIES

• In a wok, add the oil and turn the heat to medium. Add the garlic, dried red peppers and ginger and cook just until it starts to get fragarant. Now add the red and green peppers and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Now add the sauce and bring to a boil. As the sauce starts to thicken, add the broccoli and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not overcook the broccoli.
• Now add the cauliflower. Stir to coat the cauliflower with the sauce. Remove from heat and serve over the rice! ENJOY!
• You can add sesame seeds and diced green onions as an option.