Chinese Cauliflower Stir Fry (干锅菜花)
If you like veggies and bold flavor, this Sichuan style Chinese cauliflower dish should definitely be on your radar. These crunchy cauliflower bites are cooked in a numbing spicy sauce that is so rich. Even though this recipe is vegan, I’ve included notes on how to add different types of protein, to make a more substantial dish for your dinner. {Vegan, Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Servings: 2 to 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 small head (18 oz./500g) Chinese cauliflower (or regular cauliflower)
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 5 dried chili peppers (Optional)
- 2 shallots , sliced (or 1/2 white onion)
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger , minced
- 2 tablespoons Doubanjiang (spicy fermented bean paste), or 1 tablespoon for a less spicy and less salty dish (*Footnote 1)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn
Sauce
- 1/4 cup vegetable stock (or water)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Rinse, drain, and set aside.
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large carbon steel (or non stick skillet) over medium-high heat until hot. Add the dried chili peppers, shallots, garlic, and ginger. Stir a few times to release the fragrance. Add the Doubanjiang and ground Sichuan peppercorns. Cook and stir to roast the doubanjiang, for 1 minute or so, or until the aromatics are evenly coated. If the doubanjiang looks dry and starts to burn, pour in a spoonful of Shaoxing wine (or water) and stir to bring down the pan temperature.
- Add the cauliflower. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the sauce. Stir again to mix well. Cover the pan. Let steam until the cauliflower turns tender. It takes 6 to 8 minutes to cook through Chinese cauliflower, and 3 to 4 minutes to cook through regular cauliflower. Check on the cauliflower every 2 to 3 minutes, stirring a few times when you check it. Add a bit of water or veggie broth if the pan gets too dry.
- Uncover. If there’s still a lot of liquid in the pan, you can turn up the heat, cook and stir a few more times to let the liquid evaporate. Transfer everything to a plate.
- Serve hot as a side or main dish over steamed rice.
Notes
- To make this dish gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and use coconut amino or tamari to replace the soy sauce.
- The recipe yields 2 servings as a main and 4 servings as a side. You can check the blog post above to learn how to add meat or tofu to the dish to make it more substantial.
Nutrition
Serving: 4servings, Calories: 123kcal, Carbohydrates: 14.4g, Protein: 3.2g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1.2g, Sodium: 523mg, Potassium: 445mg, Fiber: 3.4g, Sugar: 6.3g, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 0.9mg