Description
Love kung pao takeout? Try this delicious sweet and sour sticky sauce with cauliflower for a veggie alternative to kung pao chicken.
Ingredients
For the Vegetables
- 2 small to medium-sized heads cauliflower, cut into florets (1900 g)
- 2 red peppers, thinly sliced (275 g)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil (15 ml)
- 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped (20 g)
- 2 tbsp peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger (20 g)
- 1 Serrano chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped (20 g)
For the Kung Sauce
- 2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce (160 ml)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (30 ml)
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar, unseasoned (45 ml)
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar (45 ml)
- 2 tbsp corn starch (15 g)
- 1/3 cup water (80 ml)
For Serving
- 1 bunch green onion, sliced (50 g)
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts (125 g)
- cooked rice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Place cauliflower florets and sliced red pepper on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, until slightly golden brown.
- In a medium bowl mix together the soy sauce, maple syrup and 2 vinegars and set aside for now.
- While the cauliflower and peppers are roasting, take a large sauté pan and heat the sesame oil. Over medium heat sauté the garlic, ginger and serrano chilli. Cook until garlic is golden brown, roughly 2 minutes. Be aware the heat from the chilli can be quite powerful so be careful what you touch and make sure you wash your hands well after handling.
- Pour the prepared sauce into the pan with sautéed garlic and ginger, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for a few minutes to slightly reduce.
- In the same bowl you used for the soy sauce mixture, mix the water and corn starch together until smooth and pour into the sauté pan.
- Stir the sauce until thickened, roughly 1-2 minutes.
- Remove roasted cauliflower and red peppers from the oven and add to the pan. Toss in the sauce until fully coated.
- Serve immediately over a bed of cooked rice and top with roasted peanuts and sliced green onions.
Notes
I kept this recipe very simple and did not batter the cauliflower, however, adding a batter really takes it up a notch and it only requires a simple extra step and 2 extra ingredients. If you’d like to try it battered, use the recipe from my buffalo cauliflower wraps (just the batter part, not the buffalo sauce!). You’ll need brown rice flour and almond milk to make the batter.
Storing: Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6th of recipe
- Calories: 301
- Fat: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 14 g