If you enjoy Chinese-style lemon chicken, this is a delicious healthier version. Panko crusted cauliflower bites are baked until crunchy and then drizzled with a sweet and savory lemon garlic sauce.
1medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
2 cupspanko bread crumbs, I prefer Kikkoman brand
2largeeggs, whisked
for the sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
1tbspminced ginger
1/2 cuplow sodium chicken stock
6 tbspfresh lemon juice, about two lemons
4 tsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsplow sodium soy sauce
1/4cupgranulated white sugar
4 tspcornstarch completely dissolved into 1/4 cup water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Set whisked eggs aside in a small bowl. Add about 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs into a ziploc bag. Line an extra large baking sheet with parchment paper. I use an 18 inch by 13 inch commercial half sheet, but you can also use two smaller sheets too.
Dip cauliflower in egg mixture and then shake a few times so that excess egg drips off. You don't want to dampen your breadcrumbs with excess egg because then they won't stick to the cauliflower. Set aside dipped cauliflower on a cutting board or plate, so that more excess egg has a chance to drip off. Repeat with remaining cauliflower.
Take an egg dipped cauliflower and place into bag of breadcrumbs. Seal and shake a few times until it is completely covered in breadcrumbs. Remove and place onto baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cauliflower, adding an additional 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs to the bag whenever you run out. You can do a few cauliflower at a time, but I don't recommend more than 3-4 because your cauliflower won't be as well covered in breadcrumbs.
Bake 15-20 minutes until breadcrumbs turn a dark golden brown and are crunchy.
While your cauliflower is cooking, make your sauce. Add all sauce ingredients, except the cornstarch dissolved in water, into a small saucepan over low heat. Bring sauce to a simmer. Add in the cornstarch dissolved in water, stirring constantly so that the cornstarch does not cook in clumps. Allow sauce to come to a simmer again while stirring. Let the sauce simmer for about 2 minutes until thickened. Remove sauce from heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes (about 5 minutes). While it's cooling, it will thicken further.
Allow baked cauliflower to cool about 15-20 minutes until they are no longer too hot to touch. Pour sauce over cauliflower. Serve warm over rice, salad, pasta or whatever else you prefer.
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.