I’ve made a baked version of Bang Bang Cauliflower before … this version is beer battered + fried to make a delicious taco! You could also serve the florets and sauce as an app or pile onto a sandwich or burger.
Pairing the rich and heavy florets with crisp+clean cabbage and herbs strikes a perfect balance while the bang bang sauce pulls it all together.
For more cauliflower and taco inspiration, here are some ideas!
Firecracker Cauliflower
General Tso’s Cauliflower
Oyster Mushroom Tacos
Gobi Manchurian
Cauliflower Jerky
Air Fried Buffalo Cauliflower Steaks
Koreatown Tacos
Crispy Hearts of Palm Tacos
Beer Battered Hearts of Palm Tacos
Bang Bang Cauliflower Tacos
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
for the batter
- 1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
- 2/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 TB + 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 cups beer (use a strong IPA for best results)
- canola, vegetable or grapeseed oil, for frying
for the cauliflower
- 1 small head cauliflower, chopped into small, bited-sized florets
for the bang bang sauce
- 1 cup vegan mayo
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
- 2 TB sriracha
- juice from one lime
to serve
- mandolined cabbage
- sliced avocado
- chopped cilantro
- chopped scallions
- warmed tortillas
Instructions
to prepare the cauliflower
- Place the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Combine, then slowly pour in the beer. Gently stir until just combined, do not overmix. Set aside for 20 minutes.
- When you are ready to fry, place several inches of grapeseed or vegetable oil into a small cast iron pot. Heat over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until it reaches 350 degrees. You can also insert a chopstick into the oil, touching the bottom of the pot. If bubbles form or sizzle around the chopstick immediately, you are ready to fry.
- Working in small batches, lightly dust the cauliflower florets with some of the flour in a large bowl. Throw a handful of the florets into the batter with your hands and move around until evenly coated. The batter will be a little goopy.
- Add the florets carefully to the hot oil, one at a time. Do not overcrowd the pot, or your florets will stick together and get mushy. Fry until golden brown, just a few minutes, flipping it around using a spider skimmer.
- Transfer fried florets to a cookie sheet with a cooling rack while you finish frying the rest of the batches.
to finish
- Combine all of the bang bang sauce ingredients together, set aside.
- Serve as desired in warmed tortillas, in a burger or sandwich, or just dip the fried florets into the sauce as an app.
My husband and I loved this recipe! It was SO delicious. My only comment (and there might be a reason why) is that this made much more batter than I needed. If it made 2.5 cups of batter, I probably used .75 cup. I used a whole small head of cauliflower as instructed. It just felt wasteful to throw away so much batter.
Thank you for this delicious recipe!
★★★★★
Linda, I’m glad you loved the recipe, thanks for your kind words. I am not sure why there was so much batter left over, that is a lot! I’m planning to make this again soon, so I’ll look at the measurements and adjust accordingly so there is less waste. Thanks for letting me know!
I can’t wait to try the recipe