gochujang cauliflower bites

Gochujang certainly has nothing to do with Ukraine but it is a huge hit within the vegan and non-vegan communities and I couldn't pass on the opportunity of posting my favorite tweaked version as well.

To be fair, veganism is more than a "diet" or even a way of life. Veganism blurs and even removes borders between cultures. Was tofu ever a part of Ukrainian cuisine? Definitely not, my dad is still not sure what it is or how to pronounce it correctly. But tofu is famously versatile and is a staple in vegan recipes, regardless of which cuisine the recipe is meant to represent.

I myself am a big fan of such open culinary borders. This is one of the main reasons I have seriously fallen in love with cooking since going vegan. The abundance of flavors, textures, and ingredients can be overwhelming but also incredibly inspiring.

I admit that I did not know how amazing food and cooking could be until I went vegan, it's like a whole new world has opened up to me.

But obvious advantages aside there is another side to the blurred borders. I have recently stumbled upon a post by Joanne Lee Molinaro about soy milk and its racist history in the USA. In Asian cultures, soy milk and tofu have been around for centuries, and only after veganism has picked up on using them have they become "hip", "modern" and "new" in the Western world.

I did not grow up in the United States but, of course, I did pick up on many of the aspects of the US culture. The whole world has been greatly influenced by the biggest producer of pop culture in modern times. I understand the post but my experience and therefore my understanding of the US culture is limited.

I can, however, confidently speak for Ukraine, and my whole life I was taught that soy is indeed bad. I often heard that soy is a cheap and consequently dodgy substitute for "real" and therefore "high-quality" ingredients such as meat and dairy. I distinctly remember a popular opinion that has been circulating in Ukraine that cheap kovbasas (thick sausages) had soy bits in them and so could lead to no less than illnesses.

I must admit I had a prejudice towards soy as well. Thankfully my natural curiosity, however, was stronger than stereotypes and fear. I remember my first attempts at cooking with tofu over a decade ago.

Clearly, now I a fan of everything soy and not only. Every day I learn about something new that originated in a country or continent I have never been to and it, therefore, feels very mysterious and new. But I think using such ingredients and therefore cultures that they represent comes with a responsibility of getting to know those cultures and advocating for them.

This is why if you would like to learn more about gochujang and its importance in Korean culture, as well as about Korean food I would highly recommend The Korean Vegan Cookbook by Joanne Lee Molinaro. I think it very much speaks for itself and, trust me, you will be in for a treat. For those living in Germany - I ordered my English copy from Thalia.de, but you can also get one in German.

And now let's go back to this post's recipe. At first, I wanted to call it "chik'n wings" but they are not that close in my opinion. Furthermore, it was not my intention to recreate wings.

Instead, these bites, are a, rather soft in texture, snack or an entree centerpiece. Aside for the complex (and addictive) gochujang taste they have a distinct roasted bell pepper and dried tomato flavor. A favorite recipe in my house!

Tips and notes:

Use panko breadcrumbs for the best texture. If panko is not available then substitute with regular breadcrumbs.
Since the size of the cauliflower will vary, do not rush to put the oat milk, flour, and breadcrumbs away, when you are done coating the cauliflower bites, as you may end up needing more.
Do use more or less gochujang than recommended depending on your spiciness tolerance. Keep in mind that different gochujang brands may differ in the spiciness levels.
What is a slurry? A slurry is a name for a combination of liquid (usually water) and a thickening agent (such as flour or cornstarch). Slurries make it possible to create a lump-free sauce. In this case, slurry does not seem necessary as you can add the flour directly into the blender. However, I prefer to use the slurry as I can then control when the flour gets added to the sauce. In this recipe, it takes a while for the sauce to thicken and I prefer to first let the sauce get hot before adding the thickening agent as once the thickening agent is added constant stirring is required.

Vegan Gochujang Cauliflower Bites

Ingredients

For the cauliflower:

1 medium-sized cauliflower head

250 milliliters oat milk

150 grams flour

200 grams panko breadcrumbs

For the gochujang sauce:

1-2 tablespoons gochujang

1 red bell pepper

280 g dried tomatoes from a jar (with oil and herbs) such as from Rewe's Beste Wahl

4 tablespoons agave syrup

2 tablespoons miso paste

2 teaspoons rice vinegar or sake

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons concentrated tomato paste (in German - Tomatenmark)

300 milliliters oat milk

For the slurry:

200 milliliters water

6 tablespoons flour

For decoration:

handful of sesame seeds

1 spring onion

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

2. Make the gochujang sauce. Begin by removing the core and seeds of the bell pepper and cutting the rest into large pieces. Heat a small frying pan on high for a few minutes. Add the bell pepper and fry for about 5-10 minutes on medium heat until the pieces get black spots. You can add a bit of oil for this part but beware that bell pepper will cause the oil to start spitting.

3. Once the bell pepper is done place it in the food processor or a blender. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients. As for the dried tomatoes, add all the contents of the jar to the food processor bowl, including the oil.

4. Blend for about 10 minutes until all the ingredients are well incorporated and only tiny chunks of tomatoes are visible. You can keep blending until smooth for better coverage of the cauliflowers.

5. While the sauce ingredients are blending, prepare the cauliflower. First, cut the vegetable into bite-sized pieces.

6. Take 3 medium-sized bowls. Fill one with oat milk, one with flour, and one with panko breadcrumbs. Take out a baking tray and place a baking sheet on top of it. One by one take each of the cauliflower pieces, dip it into the oat milk first, then into the flour, back into the oat milk again, and into the panko breadcrumbs. Arrange all the coated pieces on the baking tray. Set aside.

7. Once the sauce is smooth enough, transfer it from the food processor into a medium-sized pot. Set the heat to high and wait for the sauce to boil. Since the sauce has tomatoes and bell peppers the sauce will be splattering around so make sure to use a lid for the pot. Once the sauce is boiling reduce the heat to medium-low and stir.

8. Place the tray with the coated cauliflower pieces into the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes or until crispy brown.

9. While the cauliflower is baking, prepare the slurry for the sauce by combining the two ingredients in a glass.

10. Add the slurry to the sauce and keep cooking and stirring frequently.

11. The sauce will take a while to thicken up so keep going and don't give up! It will take a total of about 10-15 minutes. The sauce will be ready when a spoonful of it will drop down into the pot in barely liquid chunks.

12. Once the cauliflower and the sauce are done, remove both from the heat and coat each cauliflower bite in the sauce thoroughly. I prefer using a noodle ladle to drop and roll each cauliflower bite around in the sauce.

13. Lastly, transfer the bites onto a plate. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and chopped spring onion on top and serve hot.