Sweet and Spicy Baked Cauliflower

This fragrant good Sweet and Spicy Baked Cauliflower is a bold succulent take on classic baked cauliflower!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Asian Fusion Baked Cauliflower

We are a big cauliflower lover, it's one of our favorite vegetables to use because everyone in our family will eat it without complaining. Our son calls it “broccoli's cousin.” While we love classic baked cauliflower. We decided to throw the Asian section at the grocery store at a cauliflower and this savory sweet and spicy cauliflower was the mouthwatering result!

For those of you who don't garden, cauliflower if actually the un-bloomed flower of a cauliflower plant. Broccoli is a close cousin, and you can substitute broccoli for cauliflower, but we think cauliflower soaks up the aromatic tangy Asian flavors better.

How to make Spicy and Sweet Baked Cauliflower

To make this appetizing roasted favorite you will need:

• Cauliflower – this versatile nutty superfood is packed with Vitamin C and is a great base for the strong Asian flavors.
• Cooking oil spray – you can use regular olive oil instead of spray but the cooking oil spray is easier. If you don't already have a reusable cooking oil sprayer its a kitchen must have!
• Garlic Salt – garlic salt is the solid way to get salt and pungent garlic in one sprinkle without adding additional moisture to the cauliflower.
• Liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce – liquid aminos is a great keto alternative to soy sauce which is the base for this Asian sauce. Use low sodium soy sauce since the garlic salt has some salt in it.
• Sriracha – sriracha adds the “spicy” to the sweet and spicy cauliflower, you can substitute another hot sauce if you don't have sriracha.
• Hoisin Sauce – hoisin sauce is a thick Asian sauce made from soybeans, vinegar, sugar, and various spices. It adds the “sweet” to this cauliflower.
• Cornstarch – cornstarch is the thickening agent for the sauce that will glaze the baked cauliflower. You can use arrowroot powder as a corn free substitute.
• Sesame seeds – sesame seeds add a wonderful crunchy texture to this cauliflower. You can use white or black sesame seeds, toasted will have the best flavor.

Once you have the ingredients, use this method

Prepare the cauliflower. Lay the cauliflower on a baking sheet and spray them with cooking spray, flip to coat both sides. Next sprinkle with garlic salt and use your hands to mix.

Bake. Place the cauliflower in the oven at 400 degrees and bake for about 15- 20 minutes or until they start to brown around the edges.

Make the sauce. While the cauliflower is baking, combine all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Then place the saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat and stir frequently for 4-5 minutes until it is thickened and will coat a spoon.

Toss and enjoy. Remove the cauliflower from the oven, let cool briefly then coat in the sauce and top with sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Kitchen notes

Don't overcrowd the pan. If you want to get crispy cauliflower, make sure the cauliflower can lay out in an even layer and the pan isn't overcrowded. An overcrowded pan causes too much moisture, prevents browning, and adds to the baking time.

Extra Toppings. If you want to add green to this dish top the cauliflower with diced green onions or some red pepper flakes for extra heat.

A few answers

How do we store leftovers?

Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Leftover sweet and spicy baked cauliflower makes a great salad topping!

How do we keep this keto?

Use liquid aminos instead of soy sauce and use arrowroot powder to thicken the sauce instead of cornstarch.

Other good Asian Inspired Recipes

Whether you are looking for a main dish to go with your cauliflower or more Asian inspired recipes you can't go wrong trying these tried-and-true dishes – like our Korean Grilled Flanken Ribsa quick and easy Spicy Peanut Noodle bowl Garlic Chinese Style Green Beansor Sesame Ginger Grilled Tuna Steaks!

Sweet and Spicy Baked Cauliflower Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
• Cooking oil spray
• 2 tbsp garlic salt
• ? cup liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Sriracha
• 1 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tbsp sesame seeds, optional

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Lay the cauliflower florets on the baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle the florets evenly with garlic salt. Use your hands to mix.
3. Bake the cauliflower for 15-20 minutes, or until the florets start to brown on the edges. While the cauliflower is cooking, combine liquid aminos, sriracha, hoisin sauce, and cornstarch in a small saucepan, whisk until combined.
4. Place the saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning. After about 4-5 minutes the sauce should thicken, once it does remove from the heat.
5. Once the cauliflower is done baking, remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower until evenly coated.
6. Top with green onion and sesame seeds and enjoy!!