Homestyle Cauliflower Recipe — Perfect for Dinner
Cook cauliflower in this way, and it will be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a rich sauce flavor. Combined with the rich aroma of fatty pork, you'll finish the plate in one go! Even novice cooks can easily master it.
Why do you love this cauliflower recipe?
It's really great for making you eat more rice: The cauliflower soaks up all the sauce, and with the flavor of fatty pork, two bowls of rice aren't enough!
It tastes just like the cauliflower stir-fried in a restaurant! First fry it and then stir-fry it, so it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The aroma after stir-frying is irresistible, and it definitely doesn't have the insipid taste like boiled cauliflower with sauce.
The operation has no threshold: Just adjust a sauce and cook it all in one pot. Kitchen beginners can also have a great sense of accomplishment when making it.
The ingredients are easy to find and cost-effective: Cauliflower is inexpensive and common. With a little bit of meat added, you can make a "luxurious home-cooked dish".
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
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·250g cauliflower (about half a medium head)
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·100g pork belly
Additional Ingredients
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·3 cloves garlic
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·3 dried chili peppers (optional, omit if you don’t like spicy)
Seasonings
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·2 tablespoons light soy sauce
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·1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
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·1/4 teaspoon salt
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·1/4 teaspoon sugar
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Make the sauce:
Pour light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Stir well and set aside.
Step 2
Prepare the cauliflower:
Cut the cauliflower into small pieces, rinse it thoroughly, and drain the water (try to make it as dry as possible to avoid oil splashing when frying).
Step 3
Prepare other ingredients:
Slice the pork belly thinly, slice the garlic, and cut the dried chili peppers into small sections. Set aside.
Step 4
Fry the cauliflower:
Pour about half a pot of oil (about 500 ml) into the pot and heat it to 180°C (the oil surface is slightly smoking).
Fry the cauliflower over high heat for about 1 minute. Flip it once during the process until the edges turn slightly yellow. Take it out and drain the oil. Set aside.
Step 5
Cook the pork:
Keep a little oil in the pot (about 1 - 2 tablespoons). Stir-fry the pork belly over medium heat until the oil comes out. Add the garlic slices and dried chili peppers and stir-fry until fragrant.
Step 6
Stir-fry together and season:
Pour in the fried cauliflower and stir-fry evenly over high heat.
Add the prepared sauce and quickly stir-fry until the cauliflower and pork slices are evenly colored and flavored.
Step 7
Serve:
Transfer to a plate and serve while it's still hot. It tastes super delicious when served with rice!
Cooking Tips
1. Fry the cauliflower instead of stir-frying it directly
Fried cauliflower will have a slightly bubbly and crispy outer skin. It really smells much better than blanching or stir-frying directly! It can instantly turn a simple home stir-fry into a restaurant-quality dish.
If you want to be a bit healthier, you can also choose to use an air fryer (fry at 180°C for about 8 minutes, remember to flip it halfway).
2. Make sure to drain the cauliflower completely after washing!
If the cauliflower is too wet, it will not only cause the oil to splash when put into the pan, but also won't develop a nice aroma when fried. It's better to place it on kitchen paper to absorb the water after washing.
3. Pork belly with some fat is more fragrant!
Slightly stir-fry until the fat releases some oil, and the aroma will double! If you're afraid of it being too greasy, you can also replace it with lean meat or chicken thigh slices, but the flavor will be a bit lighter.
4. Stir-fry the sauce quickly over high heat and don't stew it
Stir-frying quickly over high heat can make the sauce evenly coat the cauliflower and pork slices, maintain the texture of the cauliflower, and prevent it from becoming soft and releasing water.
Serving Suggestions
1. You can eat three bowls of rice with this!
This dish is savory and has a rich sauce, making it great for rice! It is recommended to pair it with hot white rice. You really won't be able to stop eating.
2. Can be made into a rice bowl/bento
Leave a little more sauce. After stir-frying, directly pour it over the rice. It's just like the rice bowls in takeaway stores! It won't dry out even when it gets cold, which is suitable for those who bring their own meals.
3. Pair it with a light soup for better balance
For example, seaweed and egg drop soup, radish and spare rib soup. They can replenish water without overpowering the flavor, instantly making the whole meal more refined.
4. You can omit the chili peppers if it's for children
Remove the dried chili peppers, and the flavor will still be rich. Kids can also accept it. You can replace the pork belly with chicken breast or beef slices to reduce the fat content.
Recipe Variations
1. Don't want to fry? You can stir-fry or blanch!
If you don't want to deep-fry, you can blanch it for 30 seconds in advance and then stir-fry, or directly stir-fry the cauliflower slowly over medium heat. However, the taste will lack a bit of the crispy aroma.
2. Add side dishes to make it more nutritious
Cauliflower + shredded carrots or black fungus is a classic combination. It looks good and is nutritious.
3. Different meats also taste great
Don't want to eat pork belly? You can try chicken thighs, bacon, or even use dried tofu to make a vegetarian version. It's also very fragrant.
4. Adding a bit of onion, green and red peppers makes it super appetizing for rice
Adding a bit of shredded onion or green and red peppers not only makes it more fragrant but also helps to cut through the greasiness. The visual effect is also better!
5. For a stronger flavor, you can add Doubanjiang (chili bean paste)/garlic chili sauce
Adding a bit of Pixian Doubanjiang or garlic chili sauce turns it into a Sichuan-style dish in an instant, with a spicy and fragrant aroma.
More Recipes Worth Trying
Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans
FAQs:
Cauliflower has a porous structure and is prone to retaining water. If you put it into the pot without draining it, the oil will splash everywhere!
The correct operation is:
Drain the water using a colander after rinsing thoroughly;
Then place it on kitchen paper to absorb the water;
If you have time, it is recommended to let it air dry for 10 minutes. It will be safer and crispier when frying!
Here are several alternatives:
Use 1/4 spoon of dark soy sauce + 1/4 spoon of sugar to create a similar sweet flavor to oyster sauce;
Or directly add a bit of mushroom powder/chicken powder to enhance the freshness;
Vegetarians can also use vegetarian oyster sauce.
Or throw a small piece of cauliflower in. If it floats and slightly bubbles, it also means the oil temperature has reached the right level.
If the oil is too cold, it won't fry with a good aroma; if it's too hot, it will easily burn. Be sure to pay attention to the changes on the surface of the pot.
Instead of frying the cauliflower, blanch it or stir-fry it in a dry pan;
Replace the pork belly with chicken breast or dried tofu;
Reduce the salt and oil in the sauce and add more garlic and onion to enhance the flavor;
The overall flavor will still be fragrant, and the calories will be halved!
As long as the operation is proper, the oil used to fry cauliflower can be reused completely:
My approach:
After frying, let the oil cool down and filter out the residues (using a fine sieve);
The filtered oil can be bottled and stored. It's especially fragrant when used for stir-frying dishes, frying eggs, or making fried rice;
Cauliflower itself doesn't have much fishy smell like when frying fish or meat. So this pot of oil is relatively clean and can still be used 2 - 3 times.
Tips:
It's not recommended to use it for frying desserts or dishes with a milky flavor because there will be a residual aroma of cauliflower;
It's best to label it as "oil used for frying vegetables" to distinguish it from ordinary oil.
Handling the oil in this way is both environmentally friendly and cost-saving. There's no waste at all.
