Gochujang Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps
Sweet and spicy Gochujang Cauliflower, baked to crispy perfect and loaded into lettuce wraps for an easy and fun satisfying meal.
I’ve been obsessed with cauliflower recently, but one flavor I wanted to try with it was gochujang. This savory, spicy, and slightly sweet Korean condiment is a major flavor booster in meals. So of course I wanted to combine these two loves together for an epic bite.
If you’re using gochujang for the first time and need more recipes to help you use it up, here are some more recipes you can try out:
Why You’ll Love These Gochujang Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps
- A fun way to get in your vegetables. Cauliflower is the star of our plate here so we are adding lots of flavor to them to really make them shine.
- Easy to make. I find whenever I don’t have to fry something, the recipe is already easier. These cauliflower pieces are battered, breaded and then baked to minimize on mess, but still give you that crispy coating.
- You can make it a balanced meal. Cauliflower on it’s own is nutritious providing fiber and lots of antioxidants. But when you pair it with some protein and complex carbs, you get a filling and satisfying meal you can feel good about.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cauliflower: Use a small to medium sized cauliflower. This should yield about 3-4 cups of florets for the recipe. To save time, you can also use pre-cut cauliflower. Just make sure to cut any larger pieces down so they are about the same size.
- Flour: Used for our batter. To make it gluten-free, just substitute for an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix that you love.
- Bread Crumbs: My preferred coating to use is panko. It’s more crispy and light in taste and you can find gluten-free versions that can work equally well as an alternative.
- Gochujang: A Korean red pepper paste. I highly recommend sticking to this condiment as it has a unique flavor that’s hard to replicate with other condiments. Many grocery stores are starting to carry it in their international aisle. If it is still hard to come by, you can try this recipe with sriracha instead (note that this is not the same flavor profile). Just start with 1 tablespoon and taste and adjust as you go.
- Seasonings: Ground ginger, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground coriander are used to season the breading. Feel free to keep it simpler by opting for any 2 seasonings you like.
- Scallions: Use the greens for garnish and the lighter white portion to cook in the sauce. Replace with shallots or sauté some diced yellow onion before adding in the sauce.
- Orange: Fresh navel orange is preferred to help balance the heat in the gochujang.
- Maple Syrup: Our sweetener, but can be substituted for white or brown sugar if you need a more cost effective replacement.
- Garlic: Feel free to add more cloves based on preference.
- Soy Sauce: If aiming to make this recipe gluten-free, just sub the soy sauce for gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos.
- Rice Vinegar: Provides some extra tang to our cauliflower. Use apple cider vinegar as an alternative.
- Bouillon: For some extra umami flavor I used some vegan chicken bouillon cube in the batter and sauce. Feel free to use vegetable bouillon cubes/paste or vegetable broth based on preference and availability.
How to Make Gochujang Cauliflower
Preheat oven to 425F. In a shallow bowl, combine the batter ingredients and whisk together. In a separate bowl combine the breading ingredients and mix.
Dip the cauliflower florets into the batter to coat and shake off excess. Place the battered cauliflower into the breading, coat evenly on all sides then shake off excess and place on a baking tray. Repeat with remaining florets.
Spray the cauliflower generously with some oil and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip, and roast for an additional 10 minutes until golden.
Meanwhile, whisk together the gochujang, sweetener, soy sauce, vinegar, juice, zest, the white portion of the sliced scallions, vegetable broth, and garlic in a bowl. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water and whisk to create a slurry.
Preheat a skillet over medium low heat and pour in the gochujang sauce and cornstarch slurry. Stir frequently until the sauce thickens and looks glossy. Pour the baked cauliflower in the sauce and toss together to coat. To crisp back up, use tongs to place the cauliflower back on the baking tray and bake for an extra 5 minutes.
Serve as is, or assemble into lettuce wraps. To each leaf add noodles, a spoonful of edamame, the cauliflower and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
Expert Tips
- Add the gochujang sauce right before you serve. The sauce will cause the cauliflower to lose some of it’s crispiness over time. So don’t wait too long to eat your cauliflower after the sauce is added.
- Re-crisp your cauliflower in the oven. After adding the sauce, you can place the cauliflower back on the baking tray and bake in the oven for a few minutes to keep the breading more crispy.
- You can use the sauce as a dip. Instead of coating all the cauliflower in the cooked sauce, pour the sauce in a dipping bowl and dip the baked cauliflower pieces or drizzle the sauce over the cauliflower after making your wraps. This can help extend the crispiness of the cauliflower even more.
- Adjust the spice to your liking. The orange juice in the recipe helps to reduce some of the heat in the gochujang. However, if you are sensitive to spice, start with 1 tablespoon of gochujang and taste before adding more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Swap the flour for an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix, swap the soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos, the panko bread crumbs for gluten-free panko crumbs and opt for a gluten-free gochujang paste.
I recommend making the cauliflower at the same time you plan to eat. It’s best freshly made just like most baked/fried foods are. If you want to save time on prep, you can cut the cauliflower 2 days in advance and pre-mix the gochujang sauce and store in the fridge for 2 days.
If you happen to have leftovers, store your cauliflower in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat the cauliflower in the air fryer at 400F for 3-5 minutes or place in the oven at 400F for 8 minutes to crisp them up and warm them through.
Make This Into a Balanced Meal
- Serve the cauliflower pieces in lettuce wraps filled with some brown rice vermicelli noodles, some marinated edamame and any garnishes you like. This makes this dish more filling and satisfying.
- Use in a nourish bowl with some rice or quinoa, crispy tofu and avocado for some creaminess.
- Add the gochujang cauliflower to tortillas and serve with some edamame, pickled vegetables and kimchi.
More Vegan Cauliflower Recipes to Try
- Roasted Gnocchi with Caramelized Cauliflower
- Breaded Cauliflower Steaks with Lentil Apple Slaw
- Roasted Cauliflower Bowls with Orange Chipotle Tahini Sauce
- Buffalo Cauliflower Chickpea Wraps
- Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Salad
Gochujang Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Korean Inspired
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Sweet and spicy Gochujang Cauliflower, baked to crispy perfect and loaded into lettuce wraps for an easy and fun satisfying meal.
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized cauliflowers, cut into 4 cups of golf ball sized florets
- High heat oil spray
Breading
- 1 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs (or gluten-free panko)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
Batter
- 3/4 cup ap flour (or gluten-free ap flour)
- 1 cup almond milk or soy milk
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 vegan chicken bouillon cube, optional
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Sauce
- 2 tbsp gochujang paste
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 medium navel orange (1/4 cup orange juice and 1 tbsp orange zest)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced (whites and greens separated)
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth (or 1/2 cup water and 1/2 a vegan chicken bouillon cube)
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Wraps, Optional
- 1 1/2 frozen edamame, thawed
- 1 serving block of vermicelli noodles, cooked
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. In one shallow bowl, combine all the batter ingredients and whisk together. In a separate bowl combine all the breading ingredients and mix together.
- Carefully dip the cauliflower florets into the batter to coat and shake off any excess. Place the battered cauliflower into the breading bowl, and with a clean hand coat the cauliflower on all sides then shake off excess and place on a parchment lined baking tray. Repeat with remaining florets.
- Spray the cauliflower generously with some oil spray and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip, and roast for an additional 10 minutes until golden.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the gochujang, sweetener, soy sauce, vinegar, juice, zest, the white portion of the sliced scallions, vegetable broth, and garlic in a bowl. Combine the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water and whisk to create a slurry then set aside.
- Preheat a skillet over medium low heat and pour in the gochujang sauce and cornstarch slurry. Stir frequently until the sauce thickens and looks glossy. Pour the baked cauliflower in the sauce and toss together to coat. Serve immediately or to crisp back up, use tongs to place the cauliflower back on the baking tray and bake for an extra 5 minutes to crisp the cauliflower back up.
- Serve as is, or use them in lettuce wraps. To a lettuce leaf add some noodles, a spoonful of edamame, the cauliflower and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
Notes
Add the gochujang sauce right before you serve. The sauce will cause the cauliflower to lose some of it’s crispiness over time. So don’t wait too long to eat your cauliflower after the sauce is added.
Re-crisp your cauliflower in the oven. After adding the sauce, you can place the cauliflower back on the baking tray and bake in the oven for a few minutes to keep the breading more crispy.
You can use the sauce as a dip. Instead of coating all the cauliflower in the cooked sauce, pour the sauce in a dipping bowl and dip the baked cauliflower pieces or drizzle the sauce over the cauliflower after making your wraps. This can help extend the crispiness of the cauliflower even more.
Adjust the spice to your liking. The orange juice in the recipe helps to reduce some of the heat in the gochujang. However, if you are sensitive to spice, start with 1 tablespoon of gochujang and taste before adding more.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
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