Teriyaki cauliflower “popcorn”

The combination of crispy, sticky, spicy and utterly delicious ticks many boxes for me. Ingredients such as soy sauce, garlic, ginger, chilli, sesame seeds and panko breadcrumbs combine with the cauliflower to give an exceptionally tasty dish.

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This particular cauliflower dish is one I make for those occasions when I want great, simple street food at home.

I’ve given the recipe for a simple teriyaki sauce but you can use a bought sauce if you wish. I have also given many other potential variations for this recipe below the recipe.

I sometimes serve the cauliflower just with boiled rice, but I usually just pop the pieces of sticky cauliflower onto a platter on a bed of either with roasted cauliflower leaves or shredded lettuce for people to help themselves to!

Delicious dips!

This is also a great dish at parties, especially if you have a dip for the cauliflower: sweet chilli sauce mixed with either natural yoghurt or mayo is particularly good.

The teriyaki sauce makes a great, punchy dipping sauce by itself – although this, too, can be mixed with yogurt or mayo if you want a more gentle teriyaki kick.

Several coatings!

To get what I think is the best texture, a few coatings for the cauliflower are called for: flour then egg then panko…….

flour: this helps the egg stick to the cauliflower pieces

egg: this not only helps the panko stick, but when cooked the egg sets to give a crisp “shell”. You can leave the egg out if you prefer, in which case dip the floured cauliflower in the teriyaki sauce instead. 

panko: these breadcrumbs coat the cauliflower and will give a further crispy exterior

Once coated in the panko, the cauliflower gets oven-cooked to give a crispy exterior before being dipped in the sauce and having a little more cooking so the sauce becomes a sticky glaze.

However, you can leave out this glazing and instead simply plunge the crispy cooked cauliflower into the sauce or other dip at the table.

Teriyaki sauce

My take on teriyaki sauce is in the recipe. It is easy to make and can be made in bulk as a lovely edible gift. You can make it ahead and store in a clean, airtight jars in the fridge for about a month.

As well as being a lovely glaze here and being delicious dip in its own right, the teriyaki sauce is fabulous spooned over salmon before roasting it.

An air-fryer version

In the recipe below I give the times and temperature for cooking in an oven. However, this works so well in an air-fryer, which takes a little less time to cook.

Simply prepare as in the recipe below up to step 6, and once breadcrumbed pop into the air-fryer….……

…..air-fry them at 190°C but only for about 10 minutes. You then mix them lightly in the remaining glaze, sprinkle over a few sesame seeds and air-fry for a further 3-4 minutes at 190°C or until the sauce is bubbling on the surface.

Recipe: Teriyaki cauliflower “popcorn” – serves 3-4

• 1 large cauliflower, cut into medium florets about an inch or so wide
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons plain flour for dusting
• 1 egg, beaten

Teriyaki-style sauce (the wet coating & glaze):

• 2 tablespoons sugar (caster or light brown)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 5 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2” piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 3 fat cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated
• 1 small red chilli, deseeded – optional
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

Dry coating:

• 100g panko breadcrumbs (I often crush them first to break them down a bit more)
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 teaspoons chilli flakes or black/white sesame seeds, optional

To finish:

• a couple teaspoons sesame seeds – black, white or a mixture
• finely chopped or sliced red chilli
• finely chopped or sliced spring onion

The oven should be preheated to 190°C (fan)

(1) Make the Teriyaki sauce: either add the ingredients to a small pan and mix well or, for a smoother sauce, add to a food processor first and blitz well before adding to a small pan.

(2) Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for about 10 minutes to reduce a little in volume: it will thicken more slightly as it cools to give a good dipping consistency.

(3) Steam the cauliflower florets for 5 minutes to slightly soften them, sprinkling over the salt to add flavour. Alternatively, gently cook in simmering salted water for 5 minutes. Once steamed, transfer to a bowl, sprinkle over the flour and toss gently to give a light dusting of flour all over. This flour coating will help the egg stick.

(4) Mix the dry coating ingredients in a medium bowl.

(5) Mix 2 teaspoons of the teriyaki sauce with the beaten egg and dip the floured cauliflower into it, giving it a light coating: this will help the panko mixture stick well.

(6) Place the egg-dipped cauliflower pieces into the panko coating. Give a gentle toss around to coat each piece fully and put onto a baking trays lined with greaseproof or silicon mats.
NB: this can be done well a day or so in advance.

(7) Place the trays into the preheated oven and cook the coated cauliflower for about 15 minutes, or until until going crispy and darker around the edges.

(8) Remove the trays from the oven and spoon a little of the teriyaki sauce over each piece, along with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
NB: you can instead coat the cauliflower fully by dipping each piece carefully into the sauce, but be gentle so as not to knock off the coating. 

(9) Return to the oven to cook for a further 6-7 minutes, or until bubbling on top. If you want more sauce, turn them over after about 4 minutes and spoon over a little more sauce. This is now ready to serve, needing just a scattering of chilli and spring onion. Any of the sauce that had dripped on the baking sheet can be spooned back over the cauliflower.

Variations on this recipe:

• You can skip the initial steaming or boiling of the cauliflower if you wish, but roast the cauliflower for about 5 more minutes once breadcrumbed. You will get a firmer, slightly chewier interior.
• Instead of using panko, give the florets a second dipping in flour ie) flour then egg then flour. You don’t get the same level of crispyness on the exterior but once cooked there will be enough of a crust for the sauce to stick to at the end.
• Use fine semolina instead of panko for a deliciously crust.
• For a vegan version, omit the egg but dip the floured florets fully in the teriyaki sauce before dipping in the panko.
• Use a bought teriyaki sauce to glaze the crispy cauliflower pieces if you don’t want to make it.
• For even quicker sauce: use a mixture of sweet chilli sauce with a splash of light soy sauce.
• For a Korean-style version: make a sauce of Gochujang paste with honey (roughly 1 part Gochujang to 3 parts honey)
• For a Thai-style version: add fresh coriander, crushed lemongrass and very finely chopped lime leaves to the sauce ingredients.
• For a crispy coconut version: stir a couple of tablespoons of desiccated coconut into the panko mixture.
• This dish also works really well with slices or chunks of aubergine, potato and butternut squash.
• Instead of cauliflower, why not go for a delicious Korean chicken, as in the photo below? Recipe: Korean chicken

Fancy a different cauliflower recipe?

A punchy roasted cauliflower soup (recipe here) is also up there among my favourite cauliflower dishes.