Vegan Spicy Kung Pao Recipe

by Jari Love

Do you love Asian food but also have a vegan in the family? This recipe is the best of both worlds, giving you the Asian food fix you’re craving while keeping things vegan friendly.

Cauliflower florets make an excellent replacement for meat in this kung pao recipe. The florets get a quick dip in a light batter and are then oven-roasted just until tender. Once they’re roasted, I toss them in a spicy sweet sauce, then pop them back into the oven for a few more minutes to brown and get crispy. Trust me, this version is so amazingly good you may not even miss the meat.

Spicy Vegan Kung Pao Cauliflower Recipe

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 20 minutes | Bake time: 20 minutes | Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup garbanzo bean flour
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup water, plus extra if needed
• 1 large head cauliflower, florets removed
• 1-1/2 cups vegan-friendly kung pao sauce
• Fresh cilantro and thinly sliced green onions, for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combined the garbanzo flour, garlic and onion powders, Sriracha sauce, salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup of water, and mix until a thick batter forms, adding more water if necessary to thin out the batter as desired.
3. Dip the cauliflower florets into the batter, remove any excess, and then lay them on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the florets are battered.
4. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until the batter turns a golden brown color.
5. Remove from the oven, and carefully, using tongs, dip the cauliflower into the kung pao sauce. (Be careful, as the cauliflower is fragile, and the batter can fall off.)
6. Once all the cauliflower is coated, bake for an additional 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a serving platter.
8. Garnish with fresh cilantro and green onions. Best served warm.

Jari Love – original creator of Get RIPPED! DVD series and group exercise classes. The hot-selling and critically acclaimed Get RIPPED! series enables individuals of any fitness level to burn up to three times more calories than the traditional weight-training program, and has received rave reviews from fitness critics throughout North America since the first title debuted in late 2005.