Kung Pao Cauliflower, or My New Favorite Dinner!
I’ll do almost anything to convince you to make kung pao cauliflower today.
Seriously if there is one other thing I can’t stop eating right now (I’m looking at you, green bean salad), it’s THIS.
I always find myself in limbo this time of year. I still love that it’s summer, that we can swim and enjoy all the incredible tomatoes and peaches and grill all the things.
And at the same time, I start to crave fall. I become so excited for what’s to come – the recipes, the comfort food, the scents, the sounds, everything.
Everywhere we go, whether it’s the grocery store or Target or the mall or farmer’s markets – it’s all in limbo. This past weekend, all of the apples were overflowing at our local farm and the peaches are dwindling.
It’s a time of year where I’m caught between wanting to make an easy sheet pan dinner and making the best tomato panzanella. Once requires turning on the oven and the other just requires lots of salt and homemade dressing!
Like this. This felt more like a cooler-weather recipe to me, but I couldn’t even WAIT to make it.
I saw a bon appetit recipe for kung pao cauliflower a few weeks ago and couldn’t get it out of my head. It seemed a little complicated for what I wanted at the time. So I made it all work on a sheet pan with a quick sauce. Tons of flavor. We are talking TONS.
And I just love that you could make the cauliflower as a side dish to something else, or you could make the cauliflower with rice and serve it like that.
I opt for the latter. Eddie likes it as a side dish to something else.
Of course!
When I first went to PF Changs as a kid, their kung pao shrimp and scallops were my go-to. I still love that meal.
It’s crazy, because I never had an affinity for spicy food but I reeeeeally adore that dish. And it’s stuck.
Kung pao cauliflower just SOUNDS like something I’d like to eat everyday.
This is SO flavorful. It’s crunchy and crisp. But it’s sweet and saucy. But it’s kind of spicy. And then it’s even good cold.
It’s HEAVEN.
Kung Pao Cauliflower
Kung Pao Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets (about 3 to 4 cups)
- olive oil spray
- sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 handful of chiles de arbol
- ⅓ cup peanuts, chopped
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- jasmine rice, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the cauliflower on a nonstick baking sheet and spritz it with olive oil. Sprinkle it with a pinch of salt freshly ground pepper. Roast the cauliflower for 15 minutes, until just slightly crisp.
- While the cauliflower is roasting, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin, sherry vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar, cornstarch, garlic and ginger. You may need to whisk a few times to get rid of any cornstarch lumps.
- After 15 minutes, pull the cauliflower out. Add the chiles and pour the sauce all over the cauliflower. Toss well to coat all the cauliflower. Return the pan to the oven. Roast for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring and tossing the cauliflower ever 5 to 10 minutes. This will depend on your oven - you just don’t want the sauce to burn in the corners, but you want to give it enough time to thicken up between tossings.
- When the cauliflower is roasted and sauce, remove the pan from the oven. Cover it with the green onions and peanuts. Serve immediately as a side or on top of jasmine rice!
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Really, just grab a fork and eat it right off the pan.
33 Comments on “Kung Pao Cauliflower, or My New Favorite Dinner!”
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This looks pretty delicious! We just saw a sesame cauliflower dish featured on The Kitchen this weekend, and we decided we want to try Asian-inspired veggies for dinners. Adding this Kung Pao Cauliflower to the weekly menu! I’m also excited to start making dinners again that move past salads and grilling. :-) (PS–there’s a typo in the ingredients list: I think you meant “sea” salt. :-D )
I used to live in China and ate Kung Pao (Gong Bao) all the time! We make it at home now and marinate the chicken/pork/whatever in veggie oil, Shaoxing wine, white pepper, cornstarch, and salt. It’s delicious every time!
finally, kung pao cauliflower, the best flavor bomb for cauliflower, well done and thank you
Will this last a few days?
I’m a big fan of jasmine rice, this recipe is just what you need on the menu at your family dinner. The low sodium soy sauce is a healthy and smart move!
This was bomb. this was bomb. this was bomb. this was bomb. thank you!
I added onions and sugar snaps to bulk it up!
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I made this last night and my husband and I loved it!! It is such a great addition to meatless monday! thank you!
You had me at cauliflower!! Love this recipe and how flavorful the sauce is. Yum!!!
Awesome recipe. I will try this at my home. Love this kung pao cauliflower recipe. Thank you for share.
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This looks so good! Could I add chicken and use the same sauce recipe?
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This was awesome! I love cauliflower and always looking for Interesting new dishes. Thank you!
This has an amazing taste! Just what I was looking for and super easy. I’m going to try this sauce with chicken. The addition of the brown sugar takes the edge off the vinegar. I will be making this agaim!
I made this for dinner last week and enjoyed the leftovers for lunch. One of my favorite dishes I’ve made in awhile! I doubled the sauce and used some to marinate tofu. Threw the tofu on the baking sheet with the cauliflower and roasted it all together. SO good!
Made this tonight with just a few modifications based on what I had: rice wine vinegar and dried red pepper flakes instead of the chile de arbol. This was delish! I’d double the sauce next time for sure.
Although we LOVED the complex flavor of this recipe, it was extremely salty. I did use oyster sauce instead of hoisin because that’s what I had, but I think I’ll modify it next time and cut the soy sauce (and maybe the hoisin) in half, and add some chicken or veggie broth to fill out the sauce. Really good, but just a little over-the-top with the saltiness. Prepared it with Jasmine rice and pan-fried potstickers! Thank you!
Made this last night and it was super tasty! I wish I had doubled the recipe because it was just as good reheated, the only mods made were adding a bit of red pepper flakes and sriracha to the sauce and pan frying some onion and bok choy alongside. Very tasty, just the right amount of sauce and would totally work with some different veggies thrown in the mix to help clear out the fridge. Will make again, no doubt.
This recipe was simply amazing! And so so easy to make!
This is super tasty! I’ve made several times. My only complaint is I wish there was more sauce, I double when I remember but if I don’t it definitely doesn’t look like that picture, way less sauce
This is so good. I could have eaten both servings. Easy to make and belies how tasty it is.
I made this tonight, and it was so good I wish I had doubled the recipe. I added some red chili flake at the end, as I love some heat. Excellent!
Made this and LOVED it!!!
I made this today and it is delicious! Easy to make on one sheet pan and easy clean up.
I used cauliflower from my garden!! Because it was so fresh, I roasted it for a much shorter time, probably 20 minutes total. It was so good!!! The sauce is awesome! I doubled it like others suggested. We will definitely be using this again even when I have to buy cauliflower. Thank you!!!!!
I have made this recipe twice now…it is absolutely delicious! Even my husband likes it…he loves the hot punch it has! He doesn’t like anything onions, but i just add snap peas for grean and he eats it.
I made this for dinner last night and it was easy and so delicious! I will definitely being adding it to our rotation. I made it exactly how recipe directs, next time I’m adding carrots and snap or snow peas!