Dish of Cauliflower Kung Pao
(click to enlarge)

Cauliflower Kung Pao


China - Sichuan
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 5 side
***
45 min
Prep		 An interestingly flavored, moderately spicy stir fry from Sichuan. It goes well with a Chinese menu or can be used as a side dish for Western menus that need a little spicing up. See also Comments.

1
5
5
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1
1/4
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1/2
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2
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1/2
#
oz
oz
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med
in
cl

T
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T
T
T
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c
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t
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c
Cauliflower, loose (1)
Bell Pepper, green
Bell Pepper, red
-- Aromatics
Scallions
Ginger
Garlic
Red Chili, dry (2)
Sichuan Peppercorns (3)  
-- Sauce
Soy Sauce, dark
Soy Sauce, light
Cornstarch
Rice Vinegar
Water
Salt
Sugar
------------
Oil
-- Garnish
Peanuts, roasted
Prep   -   (30 min)
  1. Cut CAULIFLWER into small stemmy florets.
  2. Core BELL PEPPERS and cut into strips about 1-1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide.
  3. Cut SCALLIONS into 1-1/2 inch lengths, white and green. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Slice GINGER very thin and cut slices into threads. Break up CHILIS small. Crush Sichuan Peppercorns medium. Mix all Aromatics items.
  4. Mix all SAUCE items.
RUN   -   (15 min)
  1. In a wok or spacious sauté pan, heat 2 T Oil. Stir in Aromatics mix and fry stirring just until aromatic.
  2. Stir Cauliflower and fry stirring until stems are just barely crisp tender, about 8 minutes. If your Cauliflower is too dry, toss in a couple tablespoons of water to help softening. If using Western Cauliflower, you will need some.
  3. Stir in Sauce mix and Bell Peppers. Fry stirring until all is well distributed and vegetables are the right stage of crisp tender.
  4. Adjust liquid if needed. Serve hot with plenty of steamed rice. Long grain Thai Jasmine is appropriate for the Sichuan region.
NOTES:

  1. Cauliflower Chinese:

      [Loose-head Cauliflower]   This has just started appearing (July 2017) in Asian markets here in Southern California, but I understand it's more common at farmer's markets in the San Francisco Bay area. For details see our Chinese Cauliflower page. If you need to substitute, use regular cauliflower with the florets cut quite small and stemmy, or use broccoli, also cut small and stemmy.

  2. Red Chili:

      Three dry red Thai chilis make this recipe moderately hot. The common Japones would be less hot. Use your own best judgement here. For details see our Chinese Chilis page.

  3. Sichuan Peppercorns

      Fruits of a prickly ash tree, now again legal in the US so long as they are lightly toasted. These are nothing at all like black pepper. For details see our Sichuan Pepper page.

  4. Dry Roasted Peanuts:

      These peanuts are very different from commercial roasted peanuts. I do not like commercial roasted as a garnish, but these are just fine, and easy to make. See our recipe Dry Roasted Peanuts.

  5. Comments:

      Dry roasted peanuts are expected in stir fries named "Kung Pao". Note that this dish does not reheat well at all.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch ar=as required tt=to taste
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