To be honest, although I love Asian food I am not a big fan of Chinese food, but I really like a sweet & sour sauce. Since we have entered lockdown no2 and thought that we will all miss out dining out and trying different kitchens, I though I might share this recipe by Madeleine Shaw which I tried last week and really loved: believe me this plant based recipe is missing nothing from the classic Chinese sticky sweet & sour chicken nuggets, and makes use of the very nutritious cauliflower which belong to the cruciferous veg family, this finger licking sweet and sour sauce covers well the cauliflower taste so it is going to be loved even by the most fussy eaters. Madeleine Shaw, the recipe creator, battered the cauliflowers in the original recipe, which makes them crispier but you could clearly avoid this step if you prefer. These nuggets are oven baked rather than stir fried for a healthier and lighter plant based version of this beloved chinese dish.
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower head, cut in florets
For the batter:
- 5 tbs all purpose flour
- 350ml water
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbs sesame seeds
- ½ tsp salt
For the sweet & sour sauce:
- 2tbs tomato concentrate (you could use ketchup as an alternative)
- 2 tbs maple syrup
- 1 tbs rice vinegar
- 1 tbs grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbs tamari or soya sauce
- 1 tbs sesame oil
Preparation
- Pre heat the oven at 200C and line a baking tray with parchment paper
- Mix all the batter ingredients in a bowl and dip the cauliflower florets in the batter
- Place in the baking tray spaced apart
- Bake in the oven for 20mins.
- Mix the sweet & sour sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Dip in the battered cauliflowers
- Bake in the tray for another 20mins at 200C.
- Serving suggestions: brown rice and avocado slices.