Crispy General Tso’s Cauliflower
A meatless version of General Tso’s chicken, replacing the chicken with crispy fried pieces of cauliflower.
We’ve been on another cauliflower kick lately. I’ve made several healthier cauliflower versions of some of Mr. K’s favorite Chinese American recipes in the past like baked orange cauliflower and honey garlic cauliflower, but this recipe is a little different because I fried the cauliflower, just like the chicken is fried for General Tso’s Chicken.
The crispy fried pieces of cauliflower tasted so good coated in the savory General Tso’s sauce! I went through several test batches of fried cauliflower trying to find the best way to fry it so that it stays crunchy even after you add on the sauce. The technique shared in the recipe has been my go-to for years and even after testing several other promising methods, it’s still the best one in my opinion.
I actually didn’t miss the chicken at all. I think I may even prefer the cauliflower version.
I also previously shared a non-fried version of General Tso’s Cauliflower or you might like to try my lemon honey cauliflower.
Crispy General Tso's Cauliflower
Ingredients
for the cauliflower
- egg whites from 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp vodka, (see note)
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 medium cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
- canola oil for frying
for the sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 tbsp dark brewed soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp granulated white sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 6 dried red chilis
For the Garnishes
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add egg whites and vodka and whisk together. In a medium bowl, add cornstarch and baking powder and whisk together.
- Dip and coat a cauliflower piece in egg whites and then lightly roll and cover in cornstarch. Set coated cauliflower aside and repeat with remaining cauliflower.
- In a pot being used for frying, add about 1 inch of oil to the pot. Bring oil to high heat. When oil is hot, lower heat to medium and then add a few cauliflower pieces. Let cauliflower cook a few minutes until a crispy coating forms over the cauliflower. The batter will not turn golden brown and will instead stay very pale, but you should see a pale crackly coating forming around the cauliflower and when you tap the cauliflower, you can feel the hard crispy shell. When cauliflower is crispy, remove from hot oil and place onto a paper towel-lined plate to soak up excess oil. Repeat with remaining cauliflower, frying in small batches.
- To make the sauce, add all ingredients except chili peppers into a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add sauce to a small saucepan. Bring sauce to a simmer and let it continue to simmer until thickened. Whisk every few seconds so that the cornstarch does not separate from the sauce and clump up while simmering. When sauce is thickened, add in chili peppers. Let the chili peppers simmer for about 30 seconds in sauce. Then remove sauce from heat.
- In a large skillet or wok, add cauliflower. Bring wok to medium heat. Pour sauce over cauliflower. Toss cauliflower until it is evenly coated in sauce and allow sauce to simmer for about 1-2 minutes until it thickens even more. Turn off heat. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds and serve.
Notes
- The vodka is key to the thick crunchy batter which stays crispy even after you add on the sauce. I tried several techniques that didn't involve vodka, but the batter was never as crunchy.
What would be a substitution for the cornstarch to make this keto
We haven’t tested it with other coatings but you could try it with the coating we use for our Keto Crispy Bang Bang Cauliflower. It will change the flavor of the dish, so just keep that in mind.
I was just wondering if you can use sake instead of vodka for the batter.
I have not tested with sake
Did you try using the sake? I’m curious haha
I have not
So great! Loved this. My only question is about the batter: I found it way too thick and had to add a bit of water. Was I doing something wrong?
I’m confused by what batter you are talking about. The batter for the cauliflower is a wet mixture and a dry mixture. Are you talking about the egg whites?
Delicious recipe. I was looking for a recipe to use a cauliflower I’d bought and didn’t want to make my usual cauliflower cheese or soup. Hubby couldn’t stop raving about it and actually said he thought he preferred it to chicken. So thank you for posting. Next time though I think I would double up on the gorgeous sauce.
Aww, I’m so glad your husband enjoyed it so much! My husband likes this version better than the chicken one too.
Somewhere it looks like chicken :-). Very nice recipe.
thank you!
Shhhh, nobody tell my kids there’s veggies in there;) This looks SO good!
haha! It’s a great way to sneak in some cauliflower.