If you ever have gone to the Chinese restaurant which serves General Tso’s deep fried chicken with sweet sauce, then you should get the idea of this recipe.
I’ve always been fascinated with how do people make these sauces that seem to be so thick and rich, and I finally learned the secret! You cook it separately from the main ingredient and add cornstarch so that it can thicken.
In the past, I always thought I had to cook the veggies and sauce together, and sadly, it didn’t give the same effect! So yes, this is like, cauliflowers in the General Tso style. I think having the cauliflowers replacing the chicken is still really awesome.
I used the concord grape juice for two reasons. First, it adds sweetness (so you can replace with broth and perhaps more maple syrup or coconut sugar if you must). Second, it adds more of the dark color. So without further ado here is the recipe.
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger powder
- 1 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- ¼ cup concord grape juice
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons white wine/white cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon red wine
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar/dark or aged vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger powder
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 scallion
- A sprinkle black and white sesame seeds
- Break the cauliflower into small florets, be aware that if they are big, they may take longer to cook.
- Once done, add the 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce, ½ teaspoon maple syrup, onion powder and ground ginger powder to the cauliflower. Use your hands to massage it until all the sauce and spices are evenly mixed. Leave it for a few minutes.
- Put it in a frying pan with a tablespoon extra light olive oil and turn the heat to medium high-high, about 6 or 5-6.
- Fry the cauliflowers for about 20 minutes, be sure to stir all the time.
- Sauce: In a small saucepan, add all the ingredients for the sauce, be sure that you’ve minced the garlic into tiny bits. Mix it evenly with a spoon.
- When the cauliflowers are 5 minutes from being done, turn the heat for the saucepan on medium or medium high (4-5). Simmer for about 5 minutes (or a little more/less), stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.
- Assemble: After the cauliflowers have cooked for 20 minutes, they should be ready to eat. Drizzle the sauce on the cauliflower and give it a quick stir, and then turn off the heat.
- Chop the scallion into rings and add on top, along with sesame seeds.
