Dynamite cauliflower popcorn – the perfect vegetarian appetiser
Ingredients for Batter
100g Tempura batter mix (you can get it from Asian stores)
160ml Cold Water
Rice flour to dredge
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
Salt and pepper pinch of both
500ml Sunflower oil
400g One cauliflower cut into florets
Edible flowers/pea shoots
1 green lime
Ingredients for Sriracha aioli
3 tbsp. Ketchup
1 cup – 250ml Mayonnaise (Kewpie Japanese brand with red doll logo)
2 tbsp Soya sauce
2 cloves of garlic minced (use micro plane or grater)
2 tbsp Sriracha sauce (this is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt.)
Pinch of paprika
2 tbsp Sesame oil
Freshly chopped chives
How to make it:
Whisk the cold water into the tempura powder. Heat oil in a pan to 190˙C degrees, the oil should be at least 3 inches deep in your pan. To test if your oil is hot enough use a wooden spoon and when the tip of the spoon bubbles up the oil is hot enough to use – this is if you don’t have a heat probe! Be very careful with hot oil – it can spit.
In a bowl – add the garlic and onion powder, plus the salt and pepper into the rice flour. Dredge the cauliflower florets into the rice flower mix before placing it into the tempura batter to fry it up. (Dredge and dip the cauliflower in batter and fry till slightly golden. (Rice flour – is lighter than all-purpose flour and will fry up crispier than most other flours, making it ideal for a tempura batter or to dredge food before frying.)
In a separate bowl add the ingredients for the aioli and keep it aside!
Transfer the cauliflower floretts out of the oil, with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels. Remove the paper towels and add the cauliflower into the bowl of aioli and toss it around until its all nicely coated with the aioli, lastly add the freshly chopped chives.
Serve in an Asian bowl and garnish with edible flowers or pea shoots and a wedge of fresh lime. Serve straight away with some chop sticks and enjoy!
Recipe feature from Halima at www.tailoredtaste.co.uk
