General Joe’s Cauliflower

General Tso had a Hott Vegan Cousin named Joe and he loved cauliflower.

Not really, but kinda. I tried to look up why the famously americanized chinese food dish called ‘General Tso’s Chicken’ got its name and it’s pretty hilarious that no one really knows. So, since this is not authentic chinese food, nor is it chicken (ew), I decided to name it after General Joe, also known as the infamous Trader Joe, who owned a magical grocery store where almost all of these ingredients came from. See what I did there?

I’m not going to lie, this recipe isn’t as easy peasy as most of my recipes but the results are WOW and it’s super fun to make. I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. I honestly couldn’t even make it to the table before these were all devoured so I know you’re going to love it!

 

General Joe's Cauliflower

• Servings: 4 – 6
• Time: 1 hour
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 green onions chopped for garnish – optional

Chopped Cilantro for garnish – optional

Toasted Sesame Seeds for garnish – optional

for the batter:

1 cup chickpea flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chinese 5 spice

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp sea salt

1 can light coconut milk

for the sauce:

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp ground ginger

2 – 3 tbsp sugar (depending how sweet you like it)

1 tbsp tapioca starch or cornstarch

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray it with coconut oil.

2. Break up your cauliflower into florets, trying to keep them equal in size. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix together all the batter ingredients. Add a splash of water if you need to thin it out a bit.

4. Begin coating your florets with the batter in the bowl, tap off the excess batter, and place on baking sheet one at a time in a single layer. Repeat until all florets are coated and placed.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, removing once halfway through to flip cauliflower.

6. While your florets are baking, whisk together all your sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over low – medium heat. Be careful not to make caramel, keep the heat low – medium. Once your sauce has thickened, remove from heat and set aside.

7. Coat each baked floret with the sauce and place back on baking sheet. Top with panko breadcrumbs and return to the oven to crisp for another 2 – 5 minutes.

8. Remove from the oven and top with chopped green onion, sesame seeds,, and cilantro.

Enjoy immediately served over rice, noodles, stir fry, salad, or eat all by itself standing over the stove.