Vegan Lemon Pepper Glazed Cauliflower (Lemon Chicken Inspired)

5 from 1 vote

Any fellow lemon lovers out there? I made some vegan Lemon Pepper Glazed Cauliflower! This recipe is inspired by lemon chicken. I love the tanginess form lemon juice balanced out by some sweetness and the peppery flavour. The sauce beautifully coats the florets so you have a sticky, really satisfying exterior. This is perfect as a finger food or served with rice!

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Course Finger Food, Main Course

Cuisine American, Asian, Chinese, Fusion

Servings people

Calories 456 kcal

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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