A little sweet, a little spicy, and a lot of delicious! This Spicy Orange Sesame Cauliflower is a perfect vegan and gluten-free meal for anyone who loves Asian food, just like me!
This recipe was a little bit of an accident. I have dishes with both orange and orange curry sauces on the blog, and I already love them both. What I was going to make, the night I first created this, was a cauliflower dish with a sauce similar to crispy beef. Since that is something I hadn’t made in years, I’d forgotten how and looked up a recipe on Google to veganize.
The recipe I was following wasn’t quite satisfying the flavor profile which I had in mind, so I just started adding more of this and more of that, and while I didn’t end up with what I was originally craving, I did end up with something I decided was incredibly delicious!
The sauce from the original recipe had some fresh orange juice in it, even though the end product doesn’t have an orange flavor. Well, as you may have guessed, the orange was one of the ingredients I added quite a bit more of. While it isn’t a strong orange flavor, it does have a hint which is delicious mixed with the soy (but I do give a soy-free option!), sesame, and other flavors in this dish.
I played around with different sweeteners to use. Usually, in my Asian dishes, I stick to maple syrup or coconut sugar. This time, it was agave for the win! If I had continued to stick to the original recipe (only veganized), agave would have made the most sense because it called for honey, which has a slightly similar flavor.
Rather than using cornstarch to thicken the sauce, I use tapioca starch. This not only keeps it grain-free (the sauce anyway, as I do use brown rice flour on the cauliflower) but it also gives the sauce it’s stickiness. I thought that a sticky cauliflower dish sounded delicious, and it was part of what I was craving.
In my book, you really can’t go wrong with anything both sweet and spicy, and in fact, writing about this right now is actually making me hungry (LOL). Even though this wasn’t what I’d originally been hoping to make we (me and the family) all enjoyed it so much I was craving more the next week. Hopefully, you enjoy it, as well! Let me know. Do you love this dish? Please leave a comment below, or take a picture of yours and tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.
Spicy Orange-Sesame Cauliflower
Ingredients
For the sauce…
- 1/2 cup gluten-free soy sauce or tamari for soy-free use *coconut aminos
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp blue agave
- 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp sambel oelek (chili paste) or more or less to taste
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch/flour or substitute arrowroot starch/flour
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
For the cauliflower batter…
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup plain/unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper subbing black pepper is fine
Everything else…
- 1 1/2 lb cauliflower florets, cut into *bite-sized pieces
- 2 green onions, chopped whites and greens separated
- 2 Tbsp minced ginger
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds plus more for topping
- drizzle/spray of oil for cooking Whatever you normally use for cooking is fine. I use olive oil.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray or rub the parchment paper with cooking oil (don't skip this step, the cauliflower likes to stick to the parchment).
- Whisk together all ingredients for the cauliflower batter. Add the cauliflower florets to the batter, a handful at a time, and stir to cover them with the batter. Remove florets, one at a time, let them drip over the bowl momentarily (if needed), and add them to the parchment-lined baking sheets. Add the cauliflower to the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes.
- While the florets bake, make the sauce. Start by whisking together all sauce ingredients.
- Heat a large, deep, skillet over medium heat and drizzle with oil. Once the oil is hot, add the whites of the green onions. Sauté for two minutes, then add the garlic and ginger. Sauté for another minute or two until onions are completely softened.
- Stir the sauce ingredients into the skillet. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Turn off heat until the cauliflower is ready.
- After the cauliflower has baked for 15 minutes, remove them from the oven and using a spatula, carefully flip all the pieces over on the parchment. Return the cauliflower to the oven for another *10 to 15 minutes, or until the insides are tender and the outsides are golden browned.
- Once the cauliflower florets are done baking, add them, the sesame seeds, and half of the remaining green onions to the skillet with the sauce. Return the heat to medium, and stir until cauliflower is coated and the sauce is reheated. Top individual servings with the remaining green onions and more toasted sesame seeds.
I made this tonight and it was De-licious!
I couldn’t find brown rice flour so I used arrowroot flour for the breading.
Hi Trenice!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Also, thank you for telling us about the arrowroot flour. I love to know and share suitable substitutions.
– Tiffani