Recipe: Gochujang-glazed cauliflower

Recipe: Gochujang-glazed cauliflower

10m Prep | 1h Cook

Last updated

This vibrant recipe is both a celebration of Korean flavours and of the humble cauliflower, utilising a glaze often used for chicken or pork to transform one of our favourite vegetables into a showstopper.

Based around gochujang – the fermented Korean chilli paste that you’ll want to include in everything once you try it – the recipe is given sweetness from Australian honey, salty umami from soy sauce, a hint of acidic complexity from rice wine vinegar and depth from a splash of toasted sesame oil.

The best thing about this recipe – other than its deliciousness and its simplicity – is its versatility. Make it with a whole cauliflower or cut into florets. Serve it warm or cold. Feature it as a main course centrepiece or as a side dish for something just as delicious.

Ingredients (Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main)

  • 1 cauliflower, whole or cut into large florets
  • Salt for seasoning water
  • 3 tbsp gochujang paste
  • 4 tbsp honey
  • 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp peanut oil
  • 3 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp freshly grated garlic
  • 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • Spring onions, finely sliced, to serve
  • Coriander leaves, to serve
  • Black sesame seeds, to serve
  • White sesame seeds, to serve

Preheat oven to 180C.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil and submerge the whole cauliflower or cauliflower florets. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove cauliflower from water and drain well.

In a small saucepan, combine the gochujang, honey, soy sauce, peanut oil, rice wine vinegar, garlic and ginger and stir over a medium heat until simmering and well combined. Remove from heat – it should thicken slightly as it cools – and stir in the toasted sesame oil.

Place the par-cooked, drained caulflower on a baking tray and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and use a pastry brush to lightly cover the cauliflower with gochujang glaze (be sure you reserve enough to cover again later).

Roast for a further 30 -45 minutes, or until cauliflower has browned all over and even charred lightly in places. Remove from oven and brush with more glaze (or if using florets, toss them in a bowl with a tablespoon or two of glaze).

Serve with finely sliced spring onion, coriander leaves and black and white sesame seeds.

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