Any fellow lemon lovers out there? I made some vegan Lemon Pepper Glazed Cauliflower! The cauliflower florets are battered and coated before being cooked to a crisp. The pieces are then coated in a deliciously sticky, lemon glaze with the perfect balance of sweet and tangy.
I served these over rice, but you can also enjoy them as is!
THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS CAULIFLOWER RECIPE
I’ve been getting creative with cauliflower a lot lately because of how versatile they are. And yes, another glazed recipe because they go so well with fried food! I personally love the tangy flavour of lemon in sweet or savoury food so this was definitely something I enjoyed making AND eating!
This recipe is inspired by lemon chicken, but of course I use cauliflower and coated these before cooking to a crisp and glazing the pieces.
HOW TO MAKE THIS LEMON PEPPER CAULIFLOWER
- In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the batter until it turns into a smooth, thick consistency.
- Evenly coat the florets in the batter.
- In another bowl, add in the bread crumbs and desiccated coconut. Mix.
- Place each cauliflower into the breadcrumb mixture. Coat and press down the bread crumbs on the cauliflower.
- After coating each one in the batter then bread crumbs, you can repeat this step to double coat the cauliflower if you’d like!
LEMON PEPPER SAUCE/GLAZE
- lemon juice from 1 1/2 lemon
- maple syrup or other liquid sweetener, adjust according to desired sweetness
- crushed black pepper
- soy sauce
Corn starch slurry
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp room temp water
WHAT TO DO:
- For the glaze, mix everything (except the diluted cornstarch) into a sauce pan and cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes until it starts to boil.
- Turn off heat then pour in the cornstarch slurry and mix until it thickens.
- Note: You can also use this glaze as a dipping sauce.
FRY THE CAULIFLOWER UNTIL CRISP
- Heat enough oil to submerge the cauliflower in a large pan or wok. Leave to heat over medium high. Once hot and you see small bubbles, you can add some bread crumbs to test the heat. It should immediately sizzle.
- Add the florets and fry until golden brown, moving it around on each side. You may need to cook your cauliflower in batches depending on the size of your pan.
- Set aside on a strainer to drain excess oil.
SERVE AND ENJOY!
Transfer to a bowl and then pour in the glaze or mix in the cauliflower into the sauce pan with the glaze. You can also use this glaze as a dipping sauce. Feel free to add some chopped basil and lemon zest. Enjoy while hot!
I’ll be sharing the full recipe below.
Hope you guys enjoy this one!
OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY
- Chinese Green Bean and Mushroom Stir-Fry
- Crispy Wontons
- Vegetable Dumplings
- Chinese Chive Pies
- Pan-Fried Cabbage and Noodle Buns
- Wontons in Chili Broth
- Scallion and Sesame Buns
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Vegan Lemon Pepper Glazed Cauliflower (Lemon Chicken Inspired)
Ingredients
Cauliflower (see notes)*
- 1 medium head cauliflower (makes 2-3 cups of florets), raw
Glaze
- 1/3 cup lemon juice from 1 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or other liquid sweetener adjust according to desired sweetness
- 2 tsp crushed black pepper
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Corn starch slurry
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp room temp water
Batter
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup room temp. water
Breading
- 1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut or sub more bread crumbs
Cooking and Serving
- Lemon zest and chopped basil for garnishing
- Neutral oil for frying
- Rice
Instructions
Preparing the glaze:
- For the glaze, mix everything (except the diluted cornstarch) into a sauce pan and cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes until it starts to boil.
- Turn off heat then pour in the cornstarch slurry and mix until it thickens.
- Note: You can also use this glaze as a dipping sauce.
Preparing and Cooking the cauliflower (baking option below)
- In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the batter until it turns into a smooth, thick consistency.
- Evenly coat the florets in the batter.
- In another bowl, add in the bread crumbs and desiccated coconut. Mix.
- Place each cauliflower into the breadcrumb mixture. Coat and press down the bread crumbs on the cauliflower.
- After coating each one in the batter then bread crumbs, you can repeat this step to double coat the cauliflower if you’d like!
- Heat enough oil to submerge the cauliflower in a large pan or wok. Leave to heat over medium high. Once hot and you see small bubbles, you can add some bread crumbs to test the heat. It should immediately sizzle.
- Add the florets and fry until golden brown, moving it around on each side. You may need to cook your cauliflower in batches depending on the size of your pan.
- Set aside on a strainer to drain excess oil.
- Transfer to a bowl and then pour in the glaze or mix in the cauliflower into the sauce pan with the glaze. You can also use this glaze as a dipping sauce. Feel free to add some chopped basil and lemon zest. Enjoy while hot!
Baking option
- Heat oven to 350F. Bake the cauliflower for 35-40 minutes or until crisp. Flip halfway through cooking.
Notes
CAULIFLOWER AND BATTER
If you have a large head of cauliflower, I would recommend to double the batter to make sure there’s enough for all the pieces.NUTRITIONAL INFO
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Wow these look so good! I’ll be adding these ingredients to my shopping list for next week!