Delicious crispy orange cauliflower is the Panda Express cauliflower orange chicken copycat for vegetarians. Cauliflower fried in a crispy batter and served on a delightful orange sauce – an Asian inspired meal.
Orange Cauliflower Copycat
This crispy orange cauliflower recipe is a perfect copycat of the Panda Express orange chicken for all vegetarians. I love the crispy and crunchy cauliflower junks tossed in this amazing tasting sweet orange sauce. If you have ever been to Panda Express and have ordered the Orange Chicken, you know what I am speaking off. Except, this recipe is so much better as it is made with cauliflower and doesn’t need meat.
Orange Cauliflower Recipe
The orange sauce does contain orange juice, this is what makes it smell like heaven. When you prepare it at home and get this scent in your nose, you know why it’s worth to stand in the kitchen for an hour. You need to fry the cauliflower, which is dipped in a batter, in order to get the most crispy orange cauliflower. I suggest you use peanut oil, which is, in my opinion, the best oil to fry. Make sure to place the fried cauliflower on kitchen paper to get rid of the unnecessary oil.
Crispy Orange Cauliflower
Ingredients
Cauliflower
- 0.5 head (0.5 head) cauliflower
- 125 g (1 cups) all-purpose flour
- 40 g (0.3 cups) cornstarch
- 0.5 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1 (1 ) egg
- 150 ml (0.6 cups) water
- 200 ml (0.9 cups) peanut oil
Orange Sauce
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) oil
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) garlic minced
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) ginger minced
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) sambal oelek
- 25 g (0.13 cups) white sugar
- 25 g (0.11 cups) brown sugar
- 30 ml (0.12 cups) orange juice
- 60 ml (0.25 cups) white vinegar
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) soy sauce
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) cornstarch
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) water
Instructions
Cauliflower
- Mix the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Add the egg and water and mix until you have a smooth batter.
- Wash the cauliflower and cut it into small florets. Add them to the batter, mix gently, and let it rest for 30 minutes in your fridge.
- Heat up the peanut oil in a pot which is suitable for frying. Once the oil is hot, add only as much cauliflower florets as fits in the pot without touching each other. Fry them for about 6 minutes until golden and don't forget to flip them after the halftime.
- When the first batch is finished, place them on a plate with kitchen paper. The paper will soak up the remaining oil from frying. Continue in batches until all battered cauliflower florets are fried. This will take you about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the pot.
Orange Sauce
- Meanwhile, you can prepare your orange sauce.Preheat a little saucepan with one tablespoon of oil. Add the minced garlic, minced, ginger, and one tablespoon of sambal oelek. Cook for one minute and stir constantly.
- Mix in the sugar, then the orange juice, white vinegar, and soy sauce. Cook until the sugar has dissolved.
- In a little bowl, mix the cornstarch with water and add it to the orange sauce. Cook until thickened. Keep it warm and add some water if the sauce gets too thick.
- When you have fried all cauliflower florets, add them to the orange sauce and mix well.Serve it with basmati rice or Asian noodles, as you prefer.
Megan says
Would you be able to update this website for someone who is looking to make it but doesn’t have a kitchen scale. Maybe in cups and table/tea spoons.
Aline Cueni says
Hi Megan.
You can find the US Customary measurement conversion right in the recipe card. Just click on the button “US Customary” right under “ingredients”.
All the best,
Aline
Barbara Alfeo says
I absolutely love your recipe! I am writing vegetarian recipe round ups on my blog in 2019 for people who are trying to make more meat-free meals (everyone has to start somewhere). I would love to feature you. You can check out my blog (for beginner environmentalists) at sunshineguerrilla.com. Is it alright if I share this link to your recipe?
Aline says
Thank you so much for your kind words, Barbara!
Please feel free to link back to my recipe (just please don’t publish a copy of the recipe on your page). Also, feel free to use one of the recipe images with the link back to my page ☺️
Have a wonderful day!
All the best,
Aline