General Tso’s Cauliflower recipe

General Tso’s Cauliflower – Sweet, spicy, deep fried Cauliflower soaked in Sweet and Spicy Sauce is a must try dish. Despite General Tso’s cauliflower being connected to chinese cuisine, this is a dish served in Chinese themed American restaurants.

Sometime back in 2015, when I heard Tso on a cooking channel, I was wondering what this Tso is. The chef in the cooking channel demonstrated a Tso chicken and an Ice Cream recipe with Tso. It was weird that i did not know anything about Tso. Assume that it is some recent spice addition to the culinary world and would be an expensive ingredient. I didn’t feel like googling to find what this “Tso” is, as it was late night and sleep was about to conquer. Next morning, Tso was washed away from my mind.

Recently I got an email from Pinchofyum that a new recipe for General Tso’s Cauliflower was published. My curiosity to know more about Tso woke me up. Reading through the post and recipe, I found that it is a sauce which I can make with ingredients available in my pantry. That rush in my mind to immediately try this recipe made me look out for cauliflower. I had a full cauliflower head fresh in my refrigerator. Few ingredients like scallions, sesame seeds were not available. That didn’t stop me from trying it out. Replaced such ingredients with whatever was available. Taste wouldn’t have been the same as the original recipe. I would call this a Fusion recipe (Indo-chinese fusion recipe)

I did use wheat flour instead of All purpose flour as my lil one’s tummy doesn’t permit All Purpose flour always. Garam Masala is added to give that Indian Masala touch and believe me this dish gave the same taste of a local street vendor’s Cauliflower dish + a chinese Cuisine Feel. Am satisfied with this yummy bowl even if i don’t go for my weekend eating out.

General Tso’s Cauliflower

Indo Chinese General Tso’s Cauliflower Recipe

General Tso's Cauliflower – Deep fried cauliflower soaked in Sweet and spicy Sauce served in Chinese themed American Restaurants
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 8 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2 Cups
Calories 2019 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the batter:

  • 1 cup – Whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon – Corn starch
  • ½ teaspoon – Salt
  • 1 – Egg
  • Main Ingredients:
  • 3 Cups – Cauliflower florets blanched in hot turmeric mixed water
  • 2 Cups – Oil to deep fry
  • For General Tso’s Sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon – Rice Bran Oil
  • 3 – garlic Cloves minced
  • ½ inch – Ginger minced
  • ½ teaspoon – Red chilli powder
  • 1 pinch – Garam Masala powder
  • ½ cup – Soy sauce
  • cup – Rice Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon – Sugar
  • 1 tablespoon – Honey
  • 1 – Tomato fine chopped
  • 1 tablespoon – Corn starch powder mixed in ½ Cup of Vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon – Green chilli sauce
  • 1 table spoon – Tomato sauce

Garnish:

  • Curry leaves thin sliced
  • Ginger – thin sliced

Instructions
 

Prepare Batter:

  • Combine whole wheat flour, corn starch, salt and egg well to form a smooth batter. Whish well.

Fry Cauliflower:

  • Heat oil in a pan. Dip cauliflower florets in batter and deep fry in hot oil. Fry for few minutes and flip to cook the other side. Fry till the exterior of cauliflower florets turns golden brown in color. Remove the fried cauliflower from hot oil and place on rack or kitchen towel.

General Tso's sauce:

  • Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic, ginger, red chilli powder, Garam Masala, soy sauce, Rice vinegar, Sugar, Honey, Tomato and saute till tomatoes are well cooked and turns mushy. Add cornstarch paste, green chilli sauce, tomato sauce and cook till it turns into sauce consistency.

Notes

Garnish with Scallions and Sesame seeds. Sorry, i did not have scallions and sesame seeds. Its very good to garnish with these ingredients

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating