Simply Baked Cauliflower Teriyaki  coated with sweet and salty sesame teriyaki sauce and topped with sesame seed and fresh spring onions. It’s baked, not fried which made it taste better, not greasy at all. This is one Meat Free Monday dish that you will not mind repeating over and over again. Not to mention, it is budget friendly which makes it even more reason to add it in your meal plan list.

Cauliflower is one vegetable that I had been buying more often than usual. This started when I discovered that there is so much I can cook using Cauliflower. From low card Cauliflower “Rice”, Cauliflower BBQ Bites, Cauliflower Pizza and Baked Parmesan Cauliflower Popcorn just the name a few. Now, this Cauliflower Teriyaki just made it in my Meat Free Monday rotation.

3 Ways to Make This

I’ve made this recipe 3 times trying different ways to make it. Here are the options in case you are looking for alternative ways to make it.

• Boil/Steam and Baked: This process involves cooking first the cauliflower in boiling water to pre-cooked it, or steam the cauliflower. After that, season it with salt and pepper or any of your favorite spices. Once seasoned, bake it for about 30 minutes. Just make sure to drain the excess water and pat dry with paper towel. Toss with the teriyaki sauce before serving.
• Bake: this Method requires only tossing the cauliflower in olive oil, then season and bake/roast it. This method takes about 45 minutes to cook.
• Coat and Bake: Last method is this one in the recipe. Coat the Cauliflower with seasoned all-purpose flour mixture then bake until cook, about 45 minutes. I like this method better as it produces a more flavorful dish. It does require extra step of coating but it is totally worth it.

The Sesame Teriyaki Sauce

This teriyaki sesame dipping sauce is absolutely delicious. It has a subtle sweetness but it can be easy adjusted to make it sweeter if sweeter is your preference. I like mine quite spicy and hot, but you can also make it mild by not adding too much peppers in  it. This sauce is really the secret to this delicious cauliflower Teriyaki, without this I do not think this dish can stand on its own. I have to mention that is dipping sauce is so easy to make, it only took me 2 minutes to make this in the microwave, but this can also be made on stove top. Simply boil the sauce until it starts to get thick and almost transparent. What more is that you can use this as dipping sauce for all your favorite teriyaki dishes, I’ve used this quite a lot over and over again.  Check out the links below for some of my teriyaki recipes.

Baked not Fried

If you want to deep fry it, feel  free to do so but I do encourage you to try to bake it. Yes, it will be a little bit longer (45 minutes) but it is worth the wait. Baking this made it less greasy and more enjoyable to eat. Plus, with a sweet and salty Teriyaki Sesame Sauce it makes it feel less overwhelming to eat with less the oil in it. Also, baking it a a healthier option and you do not have to bother using 2 1-2 cups of oil just to cook it. Baking it also makes it easier because you can just leave it for 45 – 60 minutes and you can do other task while it bakes. No need to standby it and monitor it, let the oven do the job and just wait for timer to go off.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb CAULIFLOWER FLORETS – cut into big bite size pieces
• 1/2 cup ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
• 2 tablespoon CORN MEAL (can be substituted with 2 tbsp all-purpose flour)
• 3/4 teaspoon PAPRIKA (reserved 1/4 for later use)
• 1/8 teaspoon BLACK PEPPER
• 1/4 teaspoon GARLIC POWDER
• 1/2 teaspoon SALT
• 1/4 teaspoon RED CHILI FLAKES
• 1 tablespoon WHITE SESAME SEED
• 3/4 cup MILK or WATER
• 1 teaspoon dried PARSLEY
• 2 tablespoon GREEN ONION – for garnishing

Teriyaki Sesame Sauce

• 1/2 cup WATER
• 2 teaspoon CORNSTARCH
• 1 tablespoon SOY SAUCE
• 3 tablespoon BROWN SUGAR
• 1/4 teaspoon RED CHILI FLAKES
• 2 cloves GARLIC – minced
• 1/2 teaspoon SESAME SEED
• 1/4 teaspoon SESAME OIL

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
2. Cut the Cauliflower: Wash and cut the cauliflower into bite size pieces. Tranfer in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix the Spices: Mix paprika, black pepper, salt, red chili flakes and garlic powder.
4. Make the Flour Coating: In a bowl, mix all-purpose flour, cornmeal (if using) and mixed spices. Pour the milk and stir until it forms into a batter.
5. Sprinkle Spices on Cauliflower: Spray olive oil to the Cauliflower. Sprinkle half of the spices to the Cauliflower florets. Toss to distribute.
6. Coat the Cauliflower: Pour the batter into the Cauliflower florets, toss to coat the Cauliflower.
7. Arrange in the Tray: Grease the baking tray with oil. Arrange the Cauliflower florets on the baking sheet. Sprinkle sesame seed, paprika, dried parsley and salt.
8. Bake at 350F for 35 – 40 minutes or until the coating is completely dry and the cauliflower is soft and cooked.
9. Make the Garlic Teriyaki Sauce: Pour the water in a pan. Add the cornstarch and stir until dissolved. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, red chili flakes, minced garlic and white sesame seed. Cook on medium low heat for 6-8 minutes or until thick and almost transparent. If you want a thicker sauce, you can cook it 2 more minutes. Add sesame oil and stir. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
10. Serve: Toss the baked cauliflower in teriyaki sauce or pour the teriyaki sauce on the cauliflower. Sprinkle with sesame seed and chopped green onion, both are optional garnish.

Serves 2-3

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