I am currently home in Halifax for a few months to wait out the winter, so I’ve been enjoying cooking for my parents again. I live alone in Toronto and knew that the winter would be tough in the pandemic without … human contact. While I am home my mom and I are trying to eat more plant-based meals coming off the holidays, which involved a lot of meat and pastries, and pastry wrapped meat. These cauliflower bites are the perfect veggie appetizer, snack or main (paired with a big salad).
Cauliflower has become really trendy in the last few years but I’m kind of ok with it. I find it super filling, and these bites are no exception. It’s also a blank canvas that can take on pretty much any flavour. I also love how cauliflower can become so creamy when cooked through, and these bites pair that creamy texture with a crispy, slightly chewy exterior.
I am borderline obsessed with these cauliflower bites. I love that they are made in one bowl, and the texture they get without oil or frying makes me very happy. I hate when you have to set up an intense dredging station to get something breaded (one bowl for egg, one bowl for flour, one bowl for crust). It’s worth the effort but sometimes you just don’t want to put in the effort, ya know?
The key to these cauliflower bites is the biscuit-like batter, that when cooked for a super long time gets crispy and holds up against the sauce. The batter completely coats the cauliflower, seeping into all the little crevices, making an almost fritter meets cauliflower bite… bite.
There are a lot of different directions you could take these bites - Franks Red Hot Sauce paired with ranch to go traditional buffalo style; I am also going to try them out with some spices added to the batter (like chili powder and cumin) to use for cauliflower tacos. But today’s recipe is inspired by flavours of the Vietnamese sauce nuoc cham. Typically nuoc cham includes water so this is a bit more concentrated. I also added in melted butter to allow the sauce to emulsify, helping it coat the cauliflower more evenly and added a bit of richness. The sauce is tangy, sweet and spicy. Topping with fresh herbs or sliced green onion adds some freshness to finish them off.
A few tips:
Spread out the cauliflower on the cookie sheet to ensure it gets nice and crispy. If you overcrowd the pan, the bites will steam - you need enough space to let the air circulate
45 minutes feels like a long time in the high heat but don’t take them out sooner! You want them to deeply cook. They may have some brown bits and that’s ok! That’s just extra flavour.
To serve:
Best served fresh out of the oven and tossed in the sauce.
They will keep ok in the fridge, but they may lose some of their crunch the next day but will still be very flavourful. If you can reheat in a toaster oven or the oven vs. the microwave, that will preserve some of the texture.
Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower Bites
Serves 4-6 appetizer style
15-minute prep, 45-minute cook time
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, leaves and stem removed, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup panko
1 egg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
½ cup water or milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp fish sauce (my favourite brand is Red Boat)
1 tsp sriracha (or other hot sauce/chilli sauce like sambal oelek)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Juice of 1 lime (roughly 2 tbsp)
Optional toppings: fresh herbs (basil, mint) or green onions
Method
Preheat the oven to 425F. Prepare a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together the batter ingredients until smooth - should look like a drippy/loose biscuit batter.
Add in your chopped cauliflower and toss to coat. Ensure you toss well - you want every little crevice of the cauliflower to be coated.
Place the coated cauliflower onto the prepared cookie sheet one at a time, in one layer, with plenty of space between each piece.
Bake for 45 minutes, until they get really dark and crispy. You can flip them over partway through to ensure both sides crisp up.
Meanwhile, prep the sauce. In a microwave-safe bowl add the honey and butter. Melt in the microwave. Add in the fish sauce, hot sauce and lime juice, whisking until well emulsified. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper!
When the cauliflower is done take it out of the oven and put them in a large heat-safe bowl. Pour over the sauce and toss the cauliflower until they are evenly coated.
Serve on a platter topped with any soft fresh herbs you have on hand (ex. Basil, mint) and sliced green onion.