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Recipe
Cauliflower Tempura with Ginger Cream

Cauliflower Tempura with Ginger Sauce

5 from 3 votes
Author: Thomas Pagot
This curried cauliflower tempura is perfectly crispy, tender on the inside, and served with the creamiest ginger sauce! You are going to love the balance of crispy cauliflower with the fresh and zesty sauce! Serve it as an appetizer or with your grain of choice.
Prep Time : 30 minutes
Cook Time : 20 minutes
Total Time : 50 minutes
Servings 3 servings

Ingredients
 

Ginger Sauce

  • 3/4 cup raw cashews soaked overnight*
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 inch fresh ginger peeled
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/4 and 1/8 tsp salt

Cauliflower Tempura

  • 10 ounces cauliflower florets (try to make florets of about the same size)
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup chilled soda water
  • 3 cups oil for frying
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint or cilantro, for serving

Instructions
 

Ginger Sauce

  • Drain the cashews. Drain the soaked cashews and transfer them to a high-speed blender.
  • Blend them. Add the water, fresh ginger, lime juice, garlic, and salt. Blend on high speed for 20-30 seconds or until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the saltiness to your liking. Feel free to add more ginger to taste and blend again.

Cauliflower Tempura

  • Cook the cauliflower. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the cauliflower florets and boil for 5-8 minutes or until the cauliflower is about 95% cooked. Do not overcook it, though.
  • Drain it. Drain and rinse the cauliflower under cold water to stop it from cooking more and to cool it. Set it aside.
  • Heat the oil. Heat about 3 cups of oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. In the meantime, prepare the tempura batter.
  • Whisk the dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, curry powder, salt, and baking powder.
  • Add the wet ingredients. Pour in the chilled soda water and whisk to combine. Do not overmix. It’s okay if there are some lumps.
  • Test the oil. Dip a wooden spoon or chopsticks into the hot oil. If bubbles appear around it, the oil is hot enough.
  • Dip the cauliflower. Working with one cauliflower floret at a time, dip it into the tempura batter (using a pair of chopsticks or a fork) and slightly shake it to remove the excess batter.
  • Deep fry. Immediately transfer to the oil and repeat with 3-4 more florets. Fry for about 1 minute or until the florets are golden brown. Remove the cauliflower tempura from the oil using a slotted spoon and transfer it to a plate lined with kitchen paper towels to remove the excess oil.
  • Repeat. Repeat with the remaining cauliflower florets, frying no more than 4-5 at a time.
  • Assemble. To assemble, pour some ginger sauce onto a plate and place the hot cauliflower tempura on top. Alternatively, you can serve the tempura with the sauce on the side! Cauliflower tempura stays crispy for a few minutes, so it's best served immediately.

Notes

Cook the cauliflower until al dente.

Cooking the cauliflower might be the challenging part of this recipe, as you want it tender but not overcooked. See, overcooked cauliflower becomes too soft, hence more difficult to handle, and has a higher moisture content, which will lead to a tempura that is not crispy. Boil the cauliflower until it is fork tender but retains a slight firmness.

Do not overmix the batter.

Overmixing the batter would develop the gluten and make the batter heavier. Mix until just combined - it's completely fine if the batter is a bit lumpy.

Adjust the consistency of the batter.

You can adjust the thickness of the crispy coating by using more or less flour. The recipe I’m giving results in a rather thin coating, as the batter is quite runny. If you prefer a thicker coating, simply add more flour or reduce the amount of soda water slightly.

Fill the pot with enough oil.

In my experience, it's best to deep-fry using a larger amount of oil for two reasons. First, having more oil in the pot helps maintain a more stable temperature. Second, it's best if the cauliflower florets do not touch the bottom of the pot and float in the oil, as this prevents them from sticking to the bottom.

Serve immediately.

As with any tempura, this cauliflower must be served immediately as it will lose its crispiness just a few minutes after frying. So, make sure to prepare the sauce beforehand, and fry the cauliflower just before serving, when everything is ready.