Baked Cauliflower with Spicy Honey Soy Sauce

There is a big craze over cauliflower recently, and by recently, I mean in the last five years maybe? Growing up in Indonesia, cauliflower was a very common and very cheap vegetables, it still is actually. We ate cauliflower quite often, perhaps once a week or at the very least once every two weeks. And then, came broccoli, this happened back when I was about in junior high I think, and then everyone switched to eating broccoli since it has more nutrients compared to cauliflower. Nutritionally, both are very good vegetables to have in your rotation, and I think it is a bit silly to choose a camp over cauliflower versus broccoli.

Anyway, I have a really simple cauliflower recipe for today, baked cauliflower florets with spicy honey soy sauce. You can get one whole large cauliflower and cut into florets, or get a 2 lb bag of cauliflower florets from your supermarket. Grease a baking tray with oil. Dip the florets in lightly beaten egg, coated with panko (Japanese bread crumbs), and place on the greased baking tray. Bake the cauliflower in 200 Celsius (400 Fahrenheit) oven for 30-35 minutes, flipped midway to ensure even browning.

For the sauce, I cook together honey, soy sauce, sambal oelek (the one from Huy Fong), garlic, and thicken with corn starch slurry. If you are a sriracha lover, you can also use sriracha instead of sambal oelek. In fact, most Asian chili sauce is pretty good in this recipe, so experiment to find the one you love most. Once the cauliflower is out from the oven, transfer them into a large mixing bowl (the larger the better for easier tossing). Pour the sauce over the cauliflower, toss gently to coat, then add 1/4 cup of chopped scallions and 2 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds. Toss again, and serve.