Although cauliflower 'wings' is on most restaurant menus today, they are more often than not fried. Usually, cauliflower wings are covered in high-fat sauce with unknown ingredients.
Like most foods you make at home, cauliflower can be baked instead of fried. Also, the sauce you make can be homemade with no oil or added preservatives. In other words, homemade is better!
For this version of Korean Cauliflower, I chose gluten-free flour. Most recipes that call for flour can be made with gluten-free flour. But, first, my go-to flour for Korean Baked Cauliflower is almond flour. I prefer almond flour for most recipes because of its texture and versatility.
Additionally, I add nutritional yeast to my batter for a cheesy flavor and a thickening agent. If, for some reason, your batter is too thick, add a little water to thin it out. Remember, it should be the consistency of pancake batter.
To make the sauce, I followed a recipe from one of my favorite Korean restaurants, Bim Bam in Novi, Michigan. I omitted the oil, exchanged maple syrup for the sugar, and added my unique blend to make it healthier. Whenever I find a dish I like, vegan or otherwise, I try to 'veganize' it and make it healthy. Unfortunately, not all my attempts were successful, but this one was a win!
If you like it spicy, add the extra Korean chili paste as instructed. For a side note, you can always add more spice. But you cannot take it away. So, spice it up slowly.
Spicy Korean Baked Cauliflower
Ingredients
CAULIFLOWER
- 1 head cauliflower large stalks removed, cut into bite-size florets
Breading:
- 1 cup almond flour or gluten-free flour of choice
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ cup water
SAUCE
- ½ cup Korean Gochujang Sauce Korean chili paste; make sure the kind you buy os vegan, without fish sauce
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce or Tamari
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sriracha
- 2 Tablespoon Water
Quinoa:
- 1 cup red quinoa
- 2 cups water
FOR SERVING:
- 1 cup cooked red quinoa
- ¼ cup sprouts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Line one large pan with parchment paper or a Silicone Baking Mat.
BREADING:
- Add flour, nutritional yeast, cayenne, and water to a large bowl.
- Whisk until the consistency of pancake batter
- Dip each piece of cauliflower in the batter, and place individually on the baking pan lined with parchment/silicone mat, a few centimeters away from each piece.
- Bake for 20 minutes in a 400-degree oven.
- Remove from the oven.
QUINOA:
- In a medium saucepan, place one cup of red quinoa and 2 cups of water
- Add a little salt
- Bring to a boil
- Cover, and cook for 15 minutes
- Remove from heat covered; fluff with a fork
- Cover until ready to use
SAUCE:
- In the meantime, prepare the sauce.
- Add all the sauce ingredients and whisk together using a separate bowl (or wash out the batter bowl and reuse).
- Remove cauliflower from the baking pan, and add to the bowl with sauce.
- Toss Baked, battered cauliflower in the sauce.
- Return to baking pan.
- Cook an additional 10 minutes
- Remove from one.
SERVING:
- Place a thin layer of quinoa across the bottom of the plate
- Place cauliflower on top of quinoa
- Sprinkle with sprouts and serve
Notes
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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