Battered, baked, and smothered in a sweet and spicy sesame sauce, this sticky sesame cauliflower is sure to be enjoyed by everyone!
Recipe by Yup, it's Vegan on January 7, 2017
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT30M
Total time: PT45M
Rating
4.89 stars (67 reviews)
Keywords
sticky sesame cauliflower
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water (plus more as needed)
1 small head of cauliflower (cut into florets (scant 4 cups of florets))
2 and 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (divided)
1/2 inch ginger (minced or grated)
2-3 cloves garlic ((to taste), minced or grated)
3 and 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar ((or less, to taste))
2 and 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili paste like sriracha
battered cauliflower ((above))
sticky sesame sauce ((above))
toasted sesame seeds (for serving)
chopped green onions (for serving)
Categories
appetizers
Asian
Cuisine
gluten-free
vegan
vegetarian
Steps
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare two large baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, garlic powder, and salt. Add 1 cup of water and stir. Continue adding water 1 tablespoon at a time until a pancake batter-esque consistency is reached. You want batter that is thick enough to stay on a cauliflower floret but thin enough that you can easily shake off the excess. I usually need another couple of tablespoons of additional water.
One by one, dip the cauliflower florets into the batter, gently shake off extra batter, and place them onto the baking sheet. Leave plenty of space between florets on the baking sheet so that they can get crispy. You may not be able to quite fit a whole head of cauliflower on two baking sheets.
Bake the battered cauliflower for 20 minutes, rotate the position of the trays, and then bake for another 5-10 more minutes or until crispy and browned.
Meanwhile, heat two teaspoons of the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the garlic and ginger and saute over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about 60-90 seconds, or until the garlic and ginger are softened and fragrant.
Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir well. Continue cooking on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and thickened slightly. Turn the heat to low and leave on the burner, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Stir in the remaining sesame oil just before mixing with the cauliflower. (I do this to make sure there's a nice noticeable sesame flavor).
Once the cauliflower is done baking, use a spatula to gently mix it together with the sauce in a bowl or the saucepan if large enough. Spread it back out on the baking sheets, and return it to the oven for just 2-4 minutes, to thicken the sauce onto the cauliflower. Watch it carefully, as the sticky sesame sauce can burn quickly. Remove from the oven and serve immediately, sprinkled with sesame seeds and chopped green onions if desired.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 half recipe
Calories: 449 kcal
Carbohydrates: 78 g
Protein: 16 g
Fat: 9 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 964 mg
Sugar: 27 g
Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
Reviews
Brian on 2022-03-10 (5 stars): To avoid a soggy bottom, I placed a rack on the tray, worked perfectly. For the sauce, I used honey and a little bit of brown sugar. Cooked the sauce on low longer than it says.
Judy Ameche-Kromschroder on 2021-10-19 (5 stars): 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Used Gf flour and Tamara for my celiac husband and it was so delicious!!!
Better than anything similar I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant!
Thank you so much for sharing and making me feel like a chef in my own home❤️
Debs on 2021-02-05 (5 stars): Excellent recipe, all the family loved it! Thankyou 😋
Deborah on 2021-01-12 (4 stars): Lovely weeknight recipe! It’s not super crispy as stated but has a lovely slight sesame, tangy flavour. I didn’t double the sauce like other readers did as just having the florets over jasmine rice was enough for me. The flat batter bottoms in the oven were also an issue for me similar to other readers but not so much that it ruined the dish. Any solutions to that particular problem is welcomed!
Regnia on 2021-01-02 (5 stars): This is so so easy, so yummy and so good looking! We loved it. Thanks for the receipe!!
Taskeen on 2020-11-30 (5 stars): Delicious. Very clever recipe. I doubled the sauce recipe and it was just right.
I tried pan frying some caulis to speed it up - but oven roasted was better.
Ideal side or main for veg day.
Anika on 2020-11-14 (5 stars): Yuuum!! So delicious, I used rice flour as the flour and tomato sauce instead of paste 😁
Robert on 2020-08-13 (5 stars): AMAZING. My mom's words: If I buy three heads of cauliflower, can we make that much tomorrow???!
Emily K. English on 2020-06-03 (5 stars): Delicious! I agree with other comments that more sauce would be nice (especially if it's going over rice too) so I do recommend doubling that part. I also accidentally skipped the last step where it goes back in the oven after coating with sauce, and it still came out great. Also was lucky that my florets got nice and crisp in the oven - I think the trick might be shaking off as much batter as possible. I also used wheat flour which may have helped the texture.
Karlie Slowiak on 2020-04-10 (5 stars): great recipe! Subbed Ketchup for tomato paste and maple for agave and turned out wonderful!
Anne Nguyen on 2020-03-18 (5 stars): One of my favourite new recipes. I don't think I have ever felt strong enough about a recipe to rate it before so that's an indication of how impressed I was.
Stela on 2020-02-18 (5 stars): After reading some of the other comments I was wondering if this recipe will turn out ok for me, but I just made it for dinner for my hubby and I, and we were both pleasantly surprised how awesome it tasted! The florets turned out deliciously crispy, sticky and tangy, just like the photos! I followed the recipe closely, except that I substituted the agave for maple syrup, and the sesame oil for pecan oil, as I didn't have any. I'm putting sesame oil on my shopping list for next time! The only change I would make next time is to double up the amount of the sauce, as another reader had suggested, for we would've loved to have more coating on the florets. Delicious, thank you for posting this wonderful recipe!