Kung Pao cauliflower. Vegetable dish in a spicy Chinese sauce

Cuisines of the world - vegan cauliflower recipe in spicy Chinese Kung Pao sauce

Kung pao chicken is a popular and well-liked dish of Chinese cuisine. He comes from the province of Sichuan, known for its spicy cuisine. It is a spicy fried dish of diced chicken, vegetables, peanuts and Szechuan pepper.

This time I suggest a vegan recipe, where I replaced chicken with cauliflower.

One of the key ingredients of this dish is hoisin sauce, which we can buy ready-made or prepare ourselves. The sauce is made with soy sauce and rice vinegar, the rest of the ingredients depend on the traditions of the region. The basic variant of hoisin sauce is: soy sauce, peanut butter, sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, chilli and pepper. Plum jam is also used to prepare the sauce, and this is what we often find on store shelves.

Ready hoisin sauce, Szechuan pepper, soy sauce, peanuts, corn starch can be bought in larger stores or online, e.g. at

INGREDIENTS

1 large cauliflower or 2 small ones
5 tablespoons of oil
1 teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns
3 green onions

1 chili pepper

2 cm of ginger

50 g unsalted peanuts

SOS

2 tbsp corn or potato starch
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp wine vinegar
2 tbsp hoisin sauce * ½ teaspoons of salt
100 - 200 ml of hot water - optional

PERFORMANCE

Divide the cauliflower into florets, such as a bite, and place them in one layer on an oven tray lined with baking paper.
Crush the Sichuan pepper in a mortar, add 3 tablespoons of oil, mix.
Preheat the oven to 200 ° C
Rub the cauliflower florets with oil and Sichuan pepper. I recommend the silicone brush.
Put the cauliflower in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
When the cauliflower is baking, prepare the sauce and vegetables.
In a bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients.
Chop the spring onions finely, put the green part aside.
Peel the garlic and cut into thin slices.
Clean the chilli from seeds and Cut into thin strips.
Peel the ginger, cut into thin slices, then into equally thin strips.
When the cauliflower is ready, pour 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan.
Fry the white spring onions, garlic, chili and ginger in oil for 2 minutes.
Add the sauce, cauliflower and stir everything quickly.
Fry for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring constantly. If necessary, add hot water. We make sure that the cauliflower does not swim in the sauce, but is only dipped in it.
Serve the cauliflower with rice or rice noodles, sprinkled with spring onion and peanuts.

* Recipe for homemade hoisin sauce:

4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon dark sugar
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 clove of garlic
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
hot sauce e.g. Sriracha to taste or dried chili
pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients for the hoisin sauce into a small blender and mix until smooth. We try and, if necessary, season with chili as we like. We keep the sauce in a closed jar in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.