Original Recipe is on purewow.com as General Tso's Cauliflower
Serves 4
Made this for lunch today and everyone LOVED it! I will definitely make it again. I have made a few adaptations, which I noted. The recipe said it takes about 1 1/2 hours to make, but I think it only took me about 45 minutes. I would suggest reading through the recipe, getting things measured out and prepped and it will all go smoothly and rather fast. You can work on cooking the sauce as the Romanesco is frying up. I used 1 lb of Romanesco and that worked out perfectly and was enough to feed 4.
For the Romanesco:
1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Cornstarch
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/3 cup of Water *Original recipe only suggested adding water if it was too thick, it definitely was
2 Eggs
3 TB Soy Sauce
1 TB Rice Vinegar
2 cups Neutral Oil (like Peanut) *The original recipe called for 1/2 cup oil, but there was no way I could get these fried all the way with such a small amount of oil
1 head Romanesco, cut into bite-size florets
For the Sauce:
2 tsp Sesame Oil
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 TB Ginger, minced
1 tsp Red Chiles (optional) *The original recipe called for 5 chilis
1/4 cup Vegetable Broth, I used our Chicken Stock because that is what I have in the house
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
3 TB Rice Vinegar
2 TB Mirin
1 TB Sugar *The original recipe called for 3 TB, so if you like these types of dishes really sweet, you will want to add more!
1 TB Cornstarch
Sesame Seeds, for garnish (optional)
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt to combine. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk the eggs, soy sauce and vinegar to combine. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the flour, whisking constantly. You should end up with a thick, but still dip-able batter (thin with a little water if needed). Heat the oil in a medium cast iron skillet until very hot (you can test it by dropping small amounts of batter into the oil - it should immediately sizzle and float). Dip each piece of Romanesco fully in the batter, then place in the oil. Pan-fry until it's golden on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper towels. In a medium pot, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the finely-chopped white scallions, garlic, ginger and chiles, and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar and mirin, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and cornstarch to combine. Pour about 1/2 cup of the hot sauce over the mixture, whisking constantly until the mixture is smooth and lump free. Return the mixture to the pot and bring to a simmer. Stir in the large pieces of green scallion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and has good flavor, 7 to 9 minutes more. Add the Romanesco to the pot and toss to coat until it is re-warmed, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds and with a side of steamed rice.