Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
Submitted by Anthony Ashmore
About the cook: Creative Producer and Self Taught Home Cook. Found of TheHamptonsHomeCook.com - Elevated Home Cooking, Weekly Recipes, Food Culture Commentary.
About the dish: Sesame Chicken is one of my all time favorite Chinese take-out dishes. Despite my affinity for it, the summer is slowly approaching and I’m doing everything I can to cut unnecessary calories and fat, without compromising flavor. For example, although we’re breading our Cauliflower, we’ll avoid a ton of excess fat and calories by baking our florets instead of frying them. Even though this is a healthier choice than traditional Chinese take-out, no flavor or comfort factor is compromised.
National Origin: Asian Fusion
Serves: 3
Estimated Time: 30 to 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
1. One Head of Cauliflower
2. Wet Ingredients (Beer Batter)
One Cup of All Purpose Flour
One Tablespoon of Adobo
One Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
Half of a Teaspoon of Salt
Half of a Teaspoon of Black Pepper
One Bottle of Budweiser Beer
3. Dry Ingredients (Breading)
One cup of Unseasoned Bread Crumbs
Half of a cup of Cornmeal
Two Tablespoons of All Purpose Flour
Half of a Teaspoon of Salt
Half of a Teaspoon of Pepper
Half of a Teaspoon of Garlic Powder or Adobo
4. Baking Ingredients
Two Tablespoons of Peanut Oil
5. Sesame Ingredients (Sauce)
A fourth of a cup of Sweet Chili Sauce
A fourth of a cup of Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce
Two tablespoons of Sesame Oil
Half of a Teaspoon of Sriracha
Half of a teaspoon of Rice Wine Vinegar
The juice of one Orange
One Teaspoon of Soy Sauce
6. Garnish Ingredients
One Teaspoon of Orange Zest
One Teaspoon of Lemon Zest
One Teaspoon of White Sesame Seeds
Preparation:
Cut medium to large size florets off of a head of Cauliflower.
Mix your wet ingredients together until it forms a cohesive pancake batter consistency.
Next, combine your dry ingredients together.
Dip the florets into the beer batter — and then immediately into the breadcrumb.
Do this with each individual floret.
Once fully coated, place the florets into a baking sheet that has been greased with Peanut Oil.
Space the florets a half of an inch apart from one another until they’re spread out evenly.
Before placing in a 400 Degree Convection Oven for 25–30 Minutes, drizzle a teaspoon of peanut oil over all the florets.
While the cauliflower bakes, whisk all of the ingredients mentioned above in a sauce pan on a low heat.
TIP: You are simply warming the combined sauces and NOT cooking them. Allow the cohesive sauce to warm for approx 5–8 Minutes.
Once the Cauliflower is golden brown, remove it from the oven and place into a large bowl.
Remove the sauce from the stove and toss the hot sauce into the hot cauliflower GENTLY.
Once the cauliflower is totally coated, serve on a platter or dish — garnished with scallions, orange zest, lemon zest and white sesame seeds.