Bang Bang Cauliflower

I am really lucky that I have a family that loves vegetables.  My husband has been on a cauliflower kick lately, which works for me....now if only I could get him to eat more salad ;-) Baby steps!

I came across a recipe for Bang Bang Cauliflower online and I thought, what the heck is this?! But of course, the "bang bang" caught my eye, as well as a new way to prepare cauliflower.  Here is my version of the recipe:

1 head cauliflower, cut into florettes and washed
5 tablespoons cornstarch
3 egg whites
3 tablespoons light coconut milk
1 cup panko
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons (approx) vegetable oil
Green onions for garnish

Sauce:
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/8 cup thai chili sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar

In a small bowl, prepare sauce and set aside.

Put the cut cauliflower into a large bowl.  Sprinkle the cornstarch over the cauliflower, and toss to coat.

In a second (small) bowl, mix together the egg whites and coconut milk.

In a third (small) bowl, mix together panko, garlic, powder, salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium.

While oil is heating, start taking the pieces of cauliflower, dip them in the egg & milk bowl, and then dip in the panko bowl.  Once dipped, place cauliflower into the heated skillet.  Repeat until all the cauliflower is in the skillet.  Reduce the heat in the skillet at this point to a medium-low.

Brown all sides of the cauliflower and once the cauliflower is cooked to your liking, remove cauliflower from skillet and put back into the large bowl.  If there is still oil, you may wish to place the cauliflower on paper towls to blot out any extra oil before putting back into the large bowl.

Once all the cauliflower is back in the big bowl, pour on the sauce and and stir to coat the cauliflower.  Add green onions for garnish and stir immediately.  Note - this uses a full head of cauliflower, so there is a LOT, you may want to adjust the recipe accordingly.

VERDICT:
While out four year old was not a fan (there was too much spice for him), my husband and I were addicted.  It was hard to stop eating the cauliflower.  The subtle spice kept pulling up back in!  Needless to say, we got our veggie fill for dinner.  Because I made the recipe with the full head of cauliflower we did have lots leftover - next time I would probably half the recipe and use the other half to steam and "baby bullet" for our baby.

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