Healthy Bang Bang Cauliflower

Now you may be used to seeing 'Bang Bang Chicken' on the menu of most Asian fusion restaurants but have you met its little sister, Bang Bang Cauliflower?! 

This veggie version not only tastes just as good as its chicken counterpart, but is also packed with just as much flavour and 'Bang' as the original!

Paired with tasty garlic rice, this meal will have your kids licking their bowls and asking why they can't have cauliflower for dinner every night! We think the parenting gold medal has just been handed out and it has your name on it. You're welcome. 

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Method 

1. Preheat the oven 220ºC before cutting the cauliflower into small florets. In a large bowl, combine half of the mayonnaise and half of the sweet chili sauce and set to one side. On a plate, combine the panko breadcrumbs, the salt and a good drizzle of olive oil, and also set it to one side. 
2. Toss the cauliflower in the sweet chili and mayonnaise mixture until everything's well coated, then take a handful of the cauliflower and coat it with the panko breadcrumb mixture. Transfer them to an oven tray lined with baking paper and repeat the process with the remaining cauliflower. Make sure the cauliflower is spread out evenly over the tray and bake them for about 25-30 minutes, or until they're tender. 
3. While the cauliflower is baking, finely chop the garlic, or if you have a garlic press handy then use that (lucky you). In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with a dash of olive oil over medium heat before adding the garlic, cooking until fragrant or for about 1-2 minutes. Add the jasmine rice, water and salt to the garlic mixture and bring it to the boil. Then reduce the heat to low and cover it with a lid, cooking it for about 10 minutes before removing it from the heat (but still keeping it covered), to let the rice become tender and the water to fully absorb. This should take about 10 minutes. 
4. While the garlic rice is cooking, you can start roughly chopping the Asian greens. Then thinly slice the carrot (unpeeled) into half-moons and thinly slice the spring onion, keeping the white and green parts separate.
5. Once you've finished that, in a small bowl, combine the rice wine vinegar, a good pinch of chilli flakes (if using, no judgement if you're not) and the remaining mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce. 
6. When the rice only has 5 minutes cook time remaining, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium frying pan over a medium-high heat before adding the carrot. Cook this, tossing every minute or so, until tender (or roughly 3-4 minutes). Add the Asian greens, the white parts of the spring onion and the soy sauce and cook, tossing, until wilted or about 1-2 minutes.
7. Divide the garlic rice between the bowls and top with the crumbed cauliflower and veggies. Drizzle with the bang bang sauce and sprinkle with the green parts of the spring onion. Dig in, you've earned it! 

FAQs

How many calories in bang bang cauliflower?

here are around 480 calories in bang bang cauliflower, as well as roughly 32g of fat, 40g of carbs and 3.5g of protein.

What is the origin of bang bang cauliflower?

Also going by the name of bon bon, pon pon or pang bang, this dish is traditionally made with chicken as the main ingredient and originated from street vendors in the Szechuan region of China.

Why is it called bang bang cauliflower?

In the chicken version of this recipe, the 'bang bang' part refers to the manner in which the meat is tenderised using a mallet or a hammer. Although bang bang cauliflower is vegetarian, the same name is used due to its popularity.