Bang Bang Cauliflower

This Bang Bang cauliflower is the vegan snack you've been waiting for! Cauliflower, which we all know absorbs flavors so well, is coated in a tempura like batter, baked and tossed in a spicy, sweet Bang Bang sauce.

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• 🙋What Is Bang Bang Cauliflower?
• 💚Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
• 🛒Ingredients
• 👨‍🍳How To Make Bang Bang Cauliflower
• Top Tip
• 🍽️What To Serve With Bang Bang Cauliflower
• ❄️Storage Instructions
• 🙋Frequently Asked Questions
• Vegan Appetizer Recipes
• Craving More Easy Vegan Recipes?
• 📖 Recipe
• ❄️Storage Instructions
• Comments

If you haven't noticed, cauliflower dishes are popping up everywhere. I've brought you potato and cauliflower mash and hot vegan cauliflower wings. But, it's not just me, cauliflower is popping up in packaged foods from pretzels to pizza. Even Chuck E Cheese has jumped on the cauliflower bandwagon with a cauliflower crusted pizza.

So, why cauliflower? What's made cauliflower the hottest food craze since cabbage? Ironically, it's because it tastes of nothing! That's right, the neutral flavor of cauliflower makes it the perfect canvas for all kind of flavors. Which brings me to bang bang cauliflower, my latest contribution to the cauliflower craze. And, boy is it good!!

Related Post: Hot Cauliflower Wings

🙋What Is Bang Bang Cauliflower?

Bang Bang cauliflower is the vegan answer to the popular Chinese dish, Bang Bang Chicken. In fact the name Bang Bang is derived from the method in which chicken is tenderized by banging it with a hammer or stick.

Bang Bang sauce is a sweet, spicy sauce that it typically made with mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce and hot sauce.

This recipe requires coating the cauliflower in a tempura like batter, rolling in panko breadcrumbs and baking it until it's tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. The crispy baked cauliflower is then coated in Bang Bang sauce and returned to the oven to absorb all the lovely flavors.

💚Reasons You'll Love This Recipe

💚Bang bang cauliflower is the perfect party snack. It's a winner snack for game day too!

💚It's budget friendly and addictively delicious!

💚This recipe is baked, not fried, so it's much healthier than the traditional deep fried recipe.

🛒Ingredients

• Cauliflower: Cauliflower is certainly having it's moment, isn't it? And with good reason, it has a nice dense texture, a neutral taste and can easily absorb flavors around it.
• Olive Oil: We're using a small amount of olive oil to coat the cauliflower for an extra crispy effect.
• Soy Milk: I used soy milk because it has the highest protein content of all the plant based milks, but you can use any plant based milk you prefer.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Plant based milk plus apple cider vinegar equals vegan buttermilk. Yum!
• Flour: I'm using all-purpose flour in this recipe, but if you want your bang bang cauliflower to be gluten free, just substitute your favorite gluten free flour. You will also need to omit the panko breadcrumbs.
• Garlic Powder: Garlic powder can stand up to high heat, whereas raw garlic turns bitter, so it makes the perfect addition to sauces and rubs that need to withstand baking.
• Onion Powder: Onion powder just has in irreplaceable, funky taste that adds so much to the flavor of this recipe.
• Paprika: Choose smoked paprika for a nice, smoky note.
• Salt: Salt makes all the flavors shine.
• Sweet Chili Sauce: Sweet, savory, tangy and spicy, sweet chili sauce is the backbone of bang bang sauce.
• Sriracha Sauce: Really you can use any hot sauce you like. You could even use my homemade Sambal Oelek recipe.
• Lime Juice: Lime juice adds a nice, bright acidic taste that really freshens up this sauce.

👨‍🍳How To Make Bang Bang Cauliflower

• Step 1 - Preheat Your Oven: Preheat your oven to 425 C (220 F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Step 2 - Make Vegan Buttermilk: Make your vegan buttermilk by combining your plant based milk with the apple cider vinegar. Set it aside for 5-10 minutes. The milk will split (or curdle). This is normal!
• Step 3 - Prepare The Dredging Station: Now prepare your dredging station by putting your flour and spices in one shallow bowl, and your panko breadcrumbs in another.

• Step 4 - Coat The Cauliflower: Put your cauliflower in a mixing bowl and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Massage the olive oil in with your hands, ensuring that the cauliflower is totally covered in the oil.
• Step 5 - Dredge Your Cauliflower: Dredge your cauliflower in the flour and seasoning mixture, and set the florets aside on a plate.
• Step 6 - Add The Vegan Buttermilk: Pour your vegan buttermilk into the remaining flour and stir until a thick batter forms. If the batter is too thick, you can add a bit more milk.
• Step 7 - Dredge Cauliflower In Batter: Dredge you cauliflower in the batter, followed by the panko breadcrumbs.

• Step 8 - Put Your Cauliflower On A Baking Sheet: Set each cauliflower floret on the baking tray, giving each piece it's own separate space. If the cauliflower florets are too close to each other they tend to steam each other, meaning they won't get as crispy.
• Step 9 - Bake: Bake your cauliflower for 20 minutes, flipping once at the halfway point.

• Step 10 - Make The Bang Bang Sauce: While your cauliflower is baking, begin preparing your Bang Bang sauce by combining the vegan mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, hot sauce and lime juice in a bowl.
• Step 11 - Dredge Cauliflower In Sauce: Dredge your freshly baked cauliflower piece by piece in the Bang Bang sauce and transfer them back to the baking tray.
• Step 12 - Bake For 5 Minutes: When all of the pieces have been coated in the sauce, return the baking tray to the oven to bake for a further 5 minutes. This will allow the sauce to be absorbed by the crispy coating without it getting soggy.

🍽️What To Serve With Bang Bang Cauliflower

• Serve bang bang cauliflower with a side of rice cooker cilantro lime rice. The flavors will really complement each other.
• This purple cabbage coleslaw has a decadently creamy peanut sauce dressing that would be an excellent complement to this spicy cauliflower.
• A light, protein-packed quinoa salad with vegetables, herbs, and a tangy vinaigrette would be a great side dish.
• This chickpea salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and a lemon-tahini dressing would be a great choice.

❄️Storage Instructions

For the best taste and texture, I recommend eating your Bang Bang Cauliflower as soon as possible. While you can store and reheat leftovers, the crispiness may diminish over time. If you do need to store leftovers, here's how:

Refrigerator

Store cooled Bang Bang Cauliflower in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for 3-5 days. Reheat Bang Bang Cauliflower in the oven at 350°F (180°C) for 5-10 min. I don't recommend freezing this dish. The texture changes too much once it's thawed.

🙋Frequently Asked Questions

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📖 Recipe