Korean Wing Inspired Cauliflower

Sticky, crispy, chewy, spicy and sweet! Korean Wing Style Cauliflower with a Creamy Ginger Sesame Dip. I Love these flavors! A delicious crowd pleasing vegetarian and nutritious game day (or any day) option. The dip is also great with with so much more. If you’re expecting a big crowd, double it. My hubby and I polished these off in one sitting. They also reheat really well. Easy to make these vegan of you like with simple substitutions to the dip. I also love these added to rice bowls.

Notes-

•Using a fresh head of cauliflower with yield the best results
•The batter should NOT be thick- all you need is a thin coating. If the coating is too thick, edges won’t crisp. The thin batter gives you textures not dissimilar to wings- crispy edges, chewy and sticky.

•I also place a rack on the baking sheet to allow the heat to flow around the cauliflower to help with crispness. This method works very well if you have a convection oven. If you have an air fryer, even better. If using a rack, brush it spray with a little oil to help prevent sticking

•cooking time may vary depending upon your oven or air fryer. I most frequently use an oven with convection, sometimes, an air fryer/toaster oven combo, for your reference. A standard air fryer may require less cooking time.

•before you start measuring ingredients, rub the inside of the Tbs with a thin layer of sesame oil for easy release of sticky ingredients

Recipe

ingredients-

1 large head cauliflower, broken into florets of varying size

For the batter:

1/2 cup rice flour

2 Tbs cornstarch

1 tsp avocado or neutral oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

3/4 cup oat milk, nut milk or water (dairy if you like)

•whisk together in a large bowl

For the spicy sauce:

1 heaping tbs gochujang

2 Tbs Maple Syrup

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp chili sauce (sambel olek)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 scant Tbs minced fresh ginger

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 Tbs grape seed oil (or neutral oil of choice)

•Whisk together in a large bowl. Set aside.

For the dip:

1/2 cup sour cream, labne, full fat Greek yogurt or a dairy free option

1 Tbs Mayo

1-2 tsp tahini, to taste

1 tsp fresh minced ginger

1 chopped scallion

flaky sea salt

fresh ground pepper

method-

•Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment

•Break a head of cauliflower into florets.

•Dip florets in batter and shake off excess (remember, batter will be thin), bake with convection (placing coated florets on a rack that’s on a baking sheet) or air fry for approximately 25 minutes, turning halfway through. If the edges haven’t crisped, add 5 more minutes with the convection on.

•While they bake, whisk up dip and set aside.

•While hot, using tongs, toss cooked florets in gochujang/maple/chili sauce, use your hands if needed to fully coat being mindful of the heat, lower heat to 375°F and bake for 15-20 minutes more. Edges with get dark and crispy. Serve with dip and watch them disappear!  

Here, served with some extra spicy chili sauce