Preparation Time : 20 minutes
Cooking Time : 10 minutes
Serving : 4members
Description
Cauliflower shezwan stir fry . No idea from where I learnt this dish or the source of the recipe but the inspiration was drawn from the Chinese restaurant Kowloon in Coimbatore . The shezwan fried rice and chicken shezwan stir fry served there is ultimate . My misconception and sense of gap in understanding Chinese food was cleared at large through this restaurant as i got to know that even Chinese food has regional food according to their own province through out china . This dish has a deep umami flavours of sweet , sour , salty and spicy together . The key is to achieve a balance of all these tastes together stir fried on high heat so it adds a caramelised flavour . This dish can very happily be eaten on its own , strait from the served bowl .( I end up doing this strait from the wok always :-)) )
Ingredients
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Cauliflower florets | 2 cups |
| Garlic | 1/2 teaspoon chopped |
| Ginger | 1/2 teaspoon chopped |
| Green chillies | 1/2 teaspoon chopped |
| Capsicum | 1/4 cut into cubes |
| Spring onion with whites | 1 teaspoon chopped + little to garnish ( I have used onion cubed as I didn't have spring onion whites in hand here ) |
| Schezuan sauce | 3 tablespoons |
| Oil | 1 teaspoon + to deep fry |
| Salt | to taste |
| Sugar | 1/4 teaspoon |
Ingredients for batter
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Flour / maida | 1/2 cup |
| Corn flour | 1/4 cup |
| Oil | 1 tablespoons |
| Salt | to taste |
Make a thick batter mixing all the above mentioned ingredients along with little water and set aside .
Method
- Dip the cauliflower florets in the batter and deep fry over a high flame until crisp .Drain and keep aside .
- Heat oil in a wok on high flame , add garlic , ginger , capsicum and green chillies and stir fry for a few seconds .
- Add the spring onion whites and sauté for a few second .Add the schezuan sauce and bring to boil .
- Add fried cauliflower florets , salt and sugar mix well .Serve immediately garnished with spring onion greens.
Ingredients (for 3/4 cup sauce)
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Garlic (finely chopped) | 1/4 cup |
| Ginger (finely chopped) | 2 tablespoons |
| Sesame oil | 3-4 tablespoons |
| Dry red chilli | 10 to 12 |
| Soya sauce | 1/2 teaspoons |
| Pepper powder | 1/4 teaspoons |
| Tomato ketchup | 1/2 teaspoons |
| Vinegar | 1/4 teaspoons |
| Salt | to taste |
| Water | 1/4 cup |
Method for the shezwan sauce
- Soak the red chillies in water for an hour.
- Take out the seeds and grind it into a smooth paste. ( I prefer my sauce hot , so i omit removing the seeds ) Add a few teaspoon of water if necessary while grinding.
- In a pan heat the oil and add the finely chopped ginger and garlic . Saute for few minutes till the garlic turns golden brown colour in a low flame . Add the ground red chilli paste .
- Mix well and cook for 2 minutes till the oil oozes out. Add soya sauce ,pepper powder, tomato ketchup , vinegar and salt .
- Keep in mind that the sauces(soya and ketchup) contains salt.Add 1/4 cup of water to this and cook for few minutes till it reaches a saucy consistency.
- Add little extra water if you want, but do not add too much.Sauce is ready.
Notes
- The easier way to take out the seeds is in the dry red chillies for the sauce is to take it out before soaking. this makes the job easy.
- The shezwan sauce can be stored in a clean bottle for 10 days in the refrigerator and used in other dishes .
- This same recipe can be followed and done by swapping paneer , mushrooms , baby corn , prawns , squid , chicken or boneless fish strips instead of cauliflower .
