American

Korean-Style Cauliflower 'Wings' With Creamy Ginger-Sesame Dip

October  4, 2022
4.6
16 Ratings
Photo by Feed the Swimmers
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 45 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

"Sticky, crispy, spicy, and sweet. A delicious, crowd-pleasing, vegetarian game-day (or any day) option. The dip is also great with with so much more. If you’re expecting a big crowd, double it." —Jill Fergus —Jill Fergus

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Ingredients
  • Cauliflower "wings"
  • 1 tablespoon gochujang
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon chili sauce (sambel olek)
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
  • 1/2 cup rice flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 cup water and/or nut milk
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • Ginger-sesame dip
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, labneh, full-fat Greek yogurt, or other dairy-free option
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon tahini
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 scallion, chopped
  • Flaky sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper.
Directions
  1. Cauliflower "wings"
  2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Break a head of cauliflower into florets.
  3. Whisk together 1 heaping Tbs gochujang, 2 Tbs maple syrup, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chili sauce (sambel olek), 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 scant Tbs minced fresh ginger, 2 tsp rice vinegar, 1 Tbs grapeseed oil. Set aside.
  4. For the batter, whisk 1/2 cup rice flour, 1 Tbs cornstarch, 1 tsp grapeseed oil, 1/2 tsp salt, fresh ground pepper, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 3/4 cup liquid (water and/or nut milk).
  5. Dip florets in batter and shake off excess. Bake for 30 minutes, turning halfway through.
  1. Ginger-sesame dip
  2. While the cauliflower is baking, whisk up dip: 1/2 cup sour cream, labneh, full-fat Greek yogurt, or dairy-free option, 1 Tbs mayo, 1 heaping tsp tahini, 1 tsp fresh minced ginger, 1 chopped scallion, flaky sea salt and fresh ground pepper, set aside.
  3. While hot, toss florets in sauce, use your hands if needed to fully coat, raise heat to 450°F and bake for 15 minutes. Serve and watch them disappear!

See what other Food52ers are saying.

11 Reviews

Dina November 17, 2023
Amazing ! Simple & easy to make. Replaced sambal oelek with sriracha bc that’s what I had. So so god. So HOT 😂 so be careful, adjust the cayenne at least & the sriracha/sambal if you want to lower the heat. But it’s the best cauli wings I’ve ever had. 👌
Briana March 8, 2023
Super delicious! My batter was really watery, (maybe because I used water instead of milk?) but I just added more rice flour until it was the consistency of heavy cream. Like others said, they didn’t get very crunchy b/c of all the water in the cauliflower, might try pre-roasting the cauliflower before battering next time. But still 5 stars because, so yummy.
jennindc February 12, 2023
Delicious! They lost crunch when I put the sauce on for the last minute but I think I wimped out, worried they could burn, and took them out too soon.

Best mistake: I added ginger, cayenne, and garlic powder to the glaze-sauce by mistake and then decided to add them AGAIN to the batter. Spicy and SO good!! Will make these again for sure.
I skipped the batter but used the spices from the batter on the cauliflower before roasting. Threw the cooked cauliflower on a bed of Asian slaw and used the sour cream sauce for dressing. Ah-mazing.
Elizabeth February 7, 2021
Pretty mediocre. Kinda came out burnt but still soft. I would probably ditch the batter and just roast the cauliflower next time.
Karl R. February 5, 2023
That’s disappointing, they look so good in the insta post https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoQHpSGJ-ne/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I wonder if there are any tricks to getting them crispy
Jill F. February 13, 2023
Hi! Cooking with convection will definitely assist with the crispiness. Many have also had success with an air fryer. I haven’t had a trouble with sogginess but will retest the recipe and see what can be tweaked.
sherineely@hotmail.com February 6, 2021
Do you think this would work in an air fryer?
Jill F. February 13, 2023
I believe the answer is yes! While I haven’t tried them this way, many have and have reported back great results.
Melanie March 16, 2020
This was delicious! I might lightly oil the parchment next time, as the battered pieces of cauliflower tended to stick when I went to turn them during the first part of baking. Great recipe!
Darian March 8, 2020
The flavor was great! I wish the texture had been a bit crispier, but that didn't stop us from devouring it.