Stir-fried Cauliflower with Tomato Sauce
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 300 grams long stem cauliflower florets from 1/2 large cauliflower (* see footnote 1)
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil
- 1 to mato chopped
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prepare a large bowl of water and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add cauliflower and boil for 2 minutes, until the stem is half cooked, without getting too tender. Turn off heat and immediately transfer cauliflower to the bowl of water to cool down. This will stop the cauliflower from continuing to cook and help it stay crisp. Drain cauliflower with a colander.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until warm, about 1 minute. Add tomato and garlic, stirring constantly. Chop tomato with spatula while stirring, until tomato turns into paste and the liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and mix well. Add sugar accordingly to adjust flavor of sauce (* see footnote 2).
- Add cauliflower back into skillet and carefully use a spatula to scoop sauce from bottom over cauliflower. Keep mixing everything together, until cauliflower is soaked with tomato sauce, and extra liquid from cauliflower is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle salt on top and mix well with spatula again. Adjust flavor by adding more sugar if needed.
- Transfer cauliflower with sauce to a plate and serve warm.
Notes
(1) You can replace the long stem cauliflower with a regular white cauliflower. Regular white cauliflower is softer than long stem. Shorten cooking time by blanching it for 1 minute instead of 2 in step 1. During stir-frying, mix sauce in a gentle manner, to avoid break the florets.
(2) The amount of sugar you should add depends on the flavor of the tomato. If you don't like a sweet dish, reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon. You can always adjust flavor by adding more sugar in the end. The dish tastes best when sugar is well balanced with the sour flavor of the tomato, but doesn't overwhelm it.
(2) The amount of sugar you should add depends on the flavor of the tomato. If you don't like a sweet dish, reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon. You can always adjust flavor by adding more sugar in the end. The dish tastes best when sugar is well balanced with the sour flavor of the tomato, but doesn't overwhelm it.