This easy to make, irresistible Vegan Korean BBQ Cauliflower checks off ALL the must haves of tender and crisp texture, sweet and tangy flavors, and *get in my belly* deliciousness. It is packed with nourishing healthy goodness. Serve this tasty cauliflower with your favorite rice for a wholesome and satisfying meal. We must warn you to plan on getting requests to add this dish into your regular weekly rotation of delicious foods, it’s totally that good. Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi!  Ameera here.

This Vegan Korean BBQ Cauliflower is a family favorite in our house. What is not to love about these sticky, sweet and flavorful little nuggets of deliciousness! The hardest part is not eating the whole dish!

Fast and Simple

All in all, once you have all your cauliflower prepped, this dish comes together fast.  Plus, it is super easy to make. Simply said, it is semi-fast food/comfort food without the associated guilt. Those tasty cauliflower florets really pack a cruciferous punch. Cruciferous veggies have it all: vitamins, fiber and disease fighting phytochemicals.

Flavor Train

What I love about this dish is that it is so satisfying and hits the flavor train high notes of sweet and spicy!  It is really packed full of flavor, making it one of those dishes that you can eat over and over, and over again, and simply never get tired of it.

Dad loved it. He was like an eating machine when we test drove this one around the block several times. He was all about being the first one to try it. LOL  I can’t blame him. It is delicious!

Tips and Tricks

One tip for this recipe is to steam the cauliflower in pan with the lid on using a little water before you add the BBQ sauce. This gives the cauliflower a chance to get a little tender, and then to release some of its water.  This prevents the BBQ sauce from getting watered down so you get that really sticky sauce that makes you go “Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm”!

I’ll let Mom tell you more about this deliciousness!

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

Robin here!

If there is a word that goes beyond the meaning of “deliciousness,” then that word applies for this super tasty, sticky, sweet, and spicy Vegan Korean BBQ Cauliflower.

I’ll be honest, I was shying away from this dish when Monkey first placed it on our “whiteboard” for testing.  Yes, we actually have a virtual whiteboard filled with literally hundreds of recipes that we plan to make.

We try to place them in “preference to make” order and this one kept rising to the top, and I kept pushing it down a few slots.  I guess Monkey got tired of seeing it get pushed down, and decided to just go ahead and make it to show me just how incredibly delicious it actually is.

SOLD!!!  I need to listen to my daughter more often, because she really has great culinary instincts.  This dish was incredibly flavorful, and the best part is that it is sooooo flippin easy to make!   It was love at first bite, and second, and third . . . I literally could not stop eating it.  It is very satisfying, you know what I am talking about, that deep feeling of satisfaction that comes from a dish that feels decadent (like a cheat dish), but really isn’t.  This is that dish.  It is now in our regular rotation of foods to make over and over again.

Give it try!  We would love to know if you love it as much as we do!

Products Used:

• 8-quart ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven or similar large stock pot with a tight-fitting lid
• Whisk or fork

Vegan Korean BBQ Cauliflower

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 13 minutes
• Total Time: 23 minutes
• Yield: 4 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: Asian

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Description

This easy to make, irresistible Vegan Korean BBQ Cauliflower checks off ALL the must haves of tender and crisp texture, sweet and tangy flavors, and *get in my belly* deliciousness. It is packed with nourishing healthy goodness. Serve this tasty cauliflower with your favorite rice for a wholesome and satisfying meal. We must warn you to plan on getting requests to add this dish into your regular weekly rotation of delicious foods, it’s totally that good. Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 medium or large cauliflower, cut into small florets (about 7–8 cups)
• 1/3 cup water
• 4 green onions, sliced thinly
• 3 cups baby spinach (optional)

Sauce Ingredients: 

• ¼ cup up to  1/3 cup tamari *
• 1 Tablespoon white miso *
• 3 Tablespoons organic maple syrup *
• 1 teaspoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 Tablespoon organic cornstarch (+ more, if needed) *
• pinch black pepper

Optional toppings:

• Green onions, sliced
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Sriracha
• Red pepper flakes

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Instructions

1. Place the Sauce Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk well, then set aside.
2. In a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven/pot or similarly large stockpot, add the cauliflower florets and 1/3 cup water. Cover and steam over medium-high heat for approx. 4 minutes or just until all the water has evaporated. Then add the mixture above in Step 1. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and evenly coats all the cauliflower.
3. Cook the cauliflower, stirring constantly until the cauliflower has reached your preference of tenderness. We cooked our approx. 3 to 4 minutes. Then stir in the green onions and baby spinach (optional) cook for another minute.
4. Serve immediately with rice of choice, and top with your favorite toppers like additional toasted sesame seeds and/or chopped green onions.

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Notes

*Miso:  We used Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free.  Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil. You can also substitute with chickpea miso for a soy free version.

*Cornstarch Slurry:  Some cauliflowers have more moisture content than others.  When you cook them, they release water.  That is why we are “steaming” the cauliflower florets at the beginning of the recipe to have them release as much water as possible.  If you find that your cauliflower has a lot of water OR if you prefer your cauliflower more tender, which means you will be cooking it longer, thus it will then release more water into the sauce.  This could impact the “stickiness” of the bbq glaze.  If you find that the glaze is not sticky enough, make a cornstarch slurry by placing  2 Tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of water into a small bowl, whisking well to remove any lumps, then push the cauliflower over to the side of the pan and whisk in some of the cornstarch slurry a teaspoon or so at a time.  Increase the heat so the mixture will thicken accordingly and stick better to the cauliflower.

*Maple Syrup:  If you are using a light organic maple syrup vs a dark organic maple syrup, you may need to add an extra teaspoon or so.  You can test for this simply by tasting the flavors toward the end of the cooking time.  If the bbq needs more sweetness, simply add in another teaspoon or so.

*Tamari:  We love the flavor of tamari.  If your diet allows, use 1/3 cup of Tamari.  If unsure on how much tamari to use, start with 1/4 cup, then taste test toward the end of the cooking time.  You can easily splash more in at the end to enhance the flavor if needed. We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium.  You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.

*Servings:  Makes 3 – 4 servings.

*Storage: Refrigerate and use within one week.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.