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.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.