This Sticky Garlic Cauliflower tastes just like the sticky garlic chicken from your favorite Chinese takeout place, but totally vegetarian (and WAY delicious!)
So…we bought a house! The tulip-man and I spent the last two years crammed into a closet of a house, and finally took the plunge and upgraded our bungalow to a real life house. But you know how sometimes you have to make a mess in order to clean? Well, the tulip-man has done just that.
Everyday I come home from school to a new destruction. Monday the floors disappeared. Yesterday the ceilings lay in shambles on the driveway. I mean, it’s going to look amazing and shiny and new and beautiful when we’re finished, but at the moment it’s a cement shell of a home (that we somehow have to live in by Sunday) (!!!).
So while he’s been busting his butt tearing apart and reconstructing our home, I’ve been over here reconstructing…cauliflower. Or at least, reconstructing the idea of how cauliflower should taste. Because cauliflower, my friends, is a true chameleon, and this Sticky Garlic Cauliflower just about proves it.
I know that as a food blogger I should be comfortable with all types of cooking, but there’s one type of cooking that I just hate. And not because it’s unhealthy or anything, but because I’m a huge scaredy cat who is already a walking fire hazard, even without the addition of this cooking method. Can you guess which it is? Yep, frying.
I hate frying! But sometimes this aversion to frying helps me to create the best (much healthier dishes). Case in point, Asian-style cauliflower. We made General Tso’s Cauliflower a while back, and today we’re changing it up to make Sticky Garlic Cauliflower! And the secret to non-fried yet crispy cauliflower? A quick dredge in panko!
Pairs well with
You can also use this as a side dish alongside a number of Asian vegetarian recipes. Here are some of our favorites!
Ingredients
Cauliflower
- ½ head cauliflower
- ½ cup all-purpose flour 60 g
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs 50 g
Sauce
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce 120 mL
- ½ cup hoisin sauce 120 mL
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp sriracha
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C). Arrange workspace, placing flour, egg, and panko in separate bowls. Mix salt and pepper into panko.
- Dredge: Cut cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Working in batches, coat the florets in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crispy.
- Sauce: Set a small saucepan over medium heat and add all “Sauce” ingredients. Whisk to combine, bring to a simmer, and cook for about 5 minutes, until it begins to thicken. Drizzle sauce over the baked cauliflower and gently toss to evenly coat.
Nutrition Information
I first published this Sticky Garlic Cauliflower on Amanda’s Cookin.
Jessica says
Easy recipe, especially for me being as clumsy as I am. I subbed the flour because I only had self rising & it came out well, but word of caution, do NOT sub low sodium soy sauce for regular, it made it way too salty. It was just my laziness not wanting to go back out.
Over all it was yummy! Thank you!
Tara says
I followed all of the instructions to a tea and it was SUPER salty. Generally, it had pretty good flavor but I needed such huge scoops of white rice to drown out the salt, I ended up eating 2-3 pieces and tossing the rest. I think it was the recommended amount of hoisin. Very disappointed.
Sarah says
Sorry to hear it, Tara! Thanks for letting me know, I’ll get to retesting this one.
Courtney says
Loved this! I was worried about the salt so made sure to get the low sodium soy sauce and didn’t use salt anywhere else and it turned out wonderful! Can’t wait to make this again!
Lulla says
I just made this for dinner and I agree with another commenter that this recipe is WAY too salt. I used low sodium soy sauce too, added no other salt, and it was still too much. I’m starving and can’t stomach this dish 🙁
Sarah says
Thanks for your feedback, Lulla! We’ll retest and modify this recipe to include less salt 😀