Craving those spicy buffalo wings during the big game but you’re trying to stick to your new plant-based diet and don’t know what to do? Then you have GOT to try these Spicy Asian Cauliflower Wings! Slightly sweet with just the right amount of spice – forget the field goal unit, this one is a touchdown!
Truth be
I had a recipe planned out earlier in the week, but sometimes the final result is just not what you were hoping for. Or, maybe the recipe tastes “ok” but the photos look like they came out of one of those disposable cameras.
Whatever the reason – I think all of us bloggers have our fair share of fails.
So last minute – I decided to redo an older recipe. My Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites, as the photos are seriously old and needed updating. But as I was getting all my preparations ready, I thought, “Let’s play with a new sauce instead”.
And these Spicy Asian Cauliflower Wing are the result.
And let me just say, I am SO happy my original recipe
SCORE!
Spicy Asian Cauliflower Wings
I won’t go into how I made my Vegan Ranch Dressing. You can find that recipe by clicking the link. But I did make this first to allow the flavors time to come together in the fridge while I made the Hot Wings.
Hint: If you don’t feel like waiting for your cashews to soak overnight, place them in a glass bowl and just cover them with water. Microwave 1 minute to soften them up before continuing with the recipe.
Start by making the batter. In a small bowl mix 3/4 cup of flour, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, a dash of cayenne,
Then, in a separate bowl or measuring cup, mix 1 cup of Almond Milk, 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar, and 1 tsp Sriracha until smooth.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until you have a thin batter. Set aside for now.
I used a small head of Cauliflower and ended up with just enough “wings” for two of us. Cut off the leaves and break up the florets to make bite-sized pieces. Then toss the pieces in the batter until thoroughly covered.
Heat your oven to 450 degrees F, and place some parchment paper on a rectangular cookie sheet. Place the battered wings on the cookie sheet spacing them as evenly as you can.
Bake the Cauliflower for 15 minutes. While the wings are baking, let’s make the sauce.
In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup of Rice Vinegar, 2 Tbs Sriracha, 2 Tbs White Miso, 2 Tbs finely minced Garlic, 1 Tbs finely minced Ginger, and 1 Tbs Maple Syrup until smooth. (I used my immersion blender to break down the larger garlic pieces, or a blender would work too).
Now that we have our sauce ready……
When the wings come out of the oven, carefully drop a few wings at a time into the sauce and turn to make sure they are evenly coated. Shake off any excess sauce and place the wings back onto the cookie sheet to continue baking.
Hint: At this point, you could also transfer the sauce covered wings into your air fryer basket as well. They won’t get crunchy, but they will brown nicely.
Continue baking your sauce-covered wings for an additional 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. As I mentioned, you could also air-fry them or place them under a broiler to brown.
Pair your Spicy Asian Cauliflower Wings with some baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cauliflower sticks. And of course your favorite Vegan Ranch Dressing.
I know what you’re thinking…..“Chuck, exactly how spicy are these things?! I don’t do spicy!”
Let me tell you, neither does my wife. She hates ALL things spicy, but she absolutely LOVED these! So use that as your gauge. The Cool Ranch Dressing takes the bite off of the Sriracha nicely.
Hope you enjoy and if you do – leave those comments!
Spicy Asian Cauliflower Wings
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 2 Servings 1x
- Category: Snack, Appetizer
- Method: Oven or Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Asian, American
Description
Slightly sweet with just the right amount of spice – touchdown! These Spicy Asian Cauliflower Wings are perfect for the big game!
Ingredients
- 1 small head Cauliflower
- 1 batch Cool Vegan Ranch Dressing (optional)
Batter
- 3/4 cup Flour
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- pinch Salt
- pinch Black Pepper
- pinch Cayenne Pepper
- 1 cup Almond Milk
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Sriracha
Wing Sauce
- 1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
- 2 Tbs Sriracha
- 2 Tbs White Miso
- 2 Tbs Garlic, finely minced
- 1 Tbs Ginger, finely minced
- 1 Tbs Maple syrup
Instructions
- Prepare Ranch Dressing if using and set aside
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
- Mix all dry batter ingredients together in a small bowl
- Mix the wet batter ingredients together in a measuring cup
- Pour the wet into the dry and mix to make a smooth batter
- Remove leaves from cauliflower and break into small bite-sized florets
- Add cauliflower to batter and stir to ensure they are evenly coated
- Place cauliflower pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes
- Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl
- When cauliflower is done, carefully remove from baking sheet and toss in sauce until evenly coated
- Either place cauliflower back on the baking sheet (or air fry) and bake for an additional 10 minutes at 350 degrees F
Notes
Keywords: spicy asian cauliflower wings
Susan Wright
they looked burnt I don’t eat burned food so how to cook it so its not burnt
★★★★
Judeen
I don’t have an air fryer so can’t advise about it. If using oven broiler, just watch closely and remove when reaches a point that appeals to your taste. Hope this helps.
Joanie
Wondering- does the batter make them crunchy?
Chuck Underwood
Not really – more like hot wings in texture, than say crispy KFC
DIane
These sound great. Next week cauliflower. I think you meant to say celery sticks at the end when you were making suggestions for side veggies. I made your gyros last night, they really hit the spot, so delicious. The tzatziki was wonderful.
Teela
The batter was great and came together well.. I use a pizza stone in the oven to ensure that the bottoms crisp up Baked for the 15 mins was perfect.Mixed in the sauce and bake 10 mins again looked great and texture good. However the flavor didn’t seem to have a depth to it. Next time I would use a different sauce mix perhaps a sweet chilli sauce or something similar. But a great way to make wings.
★★★★
Elfriede Mayer
CHUCK PLEASE WHAT IS Siracha? I live in Nz and what could i exchange it with ?
Chuck Underwood
Hot Sauce.
Ameena
What kind of flour do you recommend for this recipe?
Chuck Underwood
I personally always use King Arthur Bread Flour for just about everything. AP flour should work too.
Flo stringfellow
Just bought an air fryer today . Made these and they are great. I was a bit worried about 2 tbsp of hot sauce, but not too spicy at all. I followed the recipe exactly.
★★★★★
Denise
Can I use any type of hot sauce? I’m not a big fan of siracha.
Chuck Underwood
Sure – whatever you like
Sharon Herbitter
Outstanding! My only complaint is that my husband ate the whole cauliflower and I only got a few bites! “Is this hard to make?” he asked, worried that he’d never get it again. “Not at all,” I told him. And the ranch dressing is the bomb (that I got to try!)
★★★★★
Bianca
Any specifics for air frying? Same temp 450? Same amount of time (15 minutes, then another 10 after tossing in sauce)?
Chuck Underwood
Good as any place to start – but I would add just watch them closely as an ai fryer will cook them faster
Leanne
Oh Chuck
I cannot tell you how amazingly good this was. I would have taken a picture but we were to busy ravishing it. We did up the spices in the batter and the wing sauce, iI’ve already requested this for my birthday dinner and that’s not until May. I’m celiac so I used a garbanzo based flour mix and the baked battered cauliflower came out beyond perfect. I had no dill seed for the dipping sauce so I used dried dill, if was awesome. We baked first, after tossing it into the wing sauce we air fried. This is our absolute favourite now..
Thank you, thank you, thank you.!!!!
Karla Underwood
I just made these —so good I could have eaten the whole batch — had to stop myself to save some for my husband :). The ranch dressing is just the right touch — might be a little boring without it. I used 1 TBSP of sriracha — will probably up that a little next time.
★★★★★
Patty
Planning on making this over Thanksgiving weekend…miso paste or powder?