General Tso's Cauliflower

I have been hearing about 'crack cauliflower' from so many sources I was intrigued to make it.  I did and it was great.  A balance of sweet and smoky, paired with ranch for dipping to cool the taste and it was a hit with my husband and me.  My kids however, do not like barbecue sauce, a main ingredient in that recipe,  so it did not hit it out of the park with them.  Along these lines I found many recipes adapted from the original like bang-bang cauliflower, honey-garlic cauliflower and just simply breaded baked cauliflower which some refer to as popcorn cauliflower.  Basically, anything you can make with battered chicken lends well to doing the same with cauliflower.  

Since my husband's favourite dish is General Tso Chicken I created this dish with him in mind.  It is on the spicier side so you can adjust the heat level by reducing the amount of chilies or omitting them entirely.  Serve this dish with rice or on its own with some toothpicks and your favourite creamy dip. 

For the cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cup panko breadcrumbs 

3 large eggs, beaten

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.  In a shallow bowl, add flour and season with salt and pepper, in a second shallow bowl add panko and in a third bowl add eggs mixed with 2 tablespoons water.  Dredge cauliflower in flour, then eggs, and finally panko pressing into crumbs to adhere to cauliflower.  Place breaded cauliflower on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake until golden 20-25 minutes.  

Meanwhile prepare sauce.  Once cauliflower is done, toss in sauce to coat and simmer a few  minutes to let the cauliflower absorb the sauce.  Remove from heat and serve.

For the sauce

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp chicken broth

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp cornstarch 

1/4 cup water

1 strip orange zest

1 clove garlic, minced

Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add garlic, chiles and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute or two until the garlic has turned golden and the chiles brighten. Add sugar, ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.

Dissolve 2 tsp cornstarch into the water, and stir into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens approximately 1 minute.