It is a homestyle aspect dish that lives on the household desk subsequent to a protein and a bowl of rice, not a restaurant centerpiece. The cauliflower stays crunchy, the sauce sits candy and bitter towards the savory mains, and it shares its tomato pantry with the homestyle traditional I grew up with, the tomato and egg stir fry.
The second I attain for this recipe is when I’m midway by means of cooking a essential and understand the desk wants another vegetable plate. The tomato base does double responsibility as sauce and one other vegetable so as to add texture, so my dinner might be extra nutritious and appears colourful. My son is 2.5 and doesn’t like a dish that tastes very bitter, so I added some sugar to the tomato to stability it out so it doesn’t style too sharp.
In my kitchen the order is brief, blanch the florets in boiling water, shock them in chilly water, then construct a fast tomato pan sauce with garlic, recent tomato, and tomato paste earlier than folding the cauliflower again in to coat. I can have this meal prepared in 20 minutes. Sure, that’s all it takes! Make it as soon as on a weeknight and you will note how a small Chinese language aspect can shift the form of the entire meal.
Components
There are solely a handful of components right here as a result of the work occurs within the method, not the pantry. I group them by what they do within the pan.
The vegetable: I take advantage of Chinese language cauliflower, additionally known as sprouting cauliflower or lengthy stem cauliflower, once I can discover it on the Asian market. It has longer stems and a chewier texture that holds up towards the sauce. Common Western cauliflower works too, and if I’m utilizing it I blanch them till virtually cooked by means of however nonetheless style a bit robust, so that they gained’t crumble throughout the stir fry.
Aromatics and recent tomato: A diced recent tomato and a few cloves of sliced garlic construct the savory base. The garlic goes in first to taste the oil, then the tomato breaks down into the beginning of the sauce.
Sauce builders: I take advantage of tomato paste so as to add concentrated tomato taste and depth. Sugar and salt are the completion, balancing the acidity of each tomato varieties. Once I don’t have tomato paste at dwelling, I merely use some ketchup to switch it. In that case, I normally skip the sugar as a result of ketchup is already candy.
Oil: Peanut oil is my default for this dish as a result of it carries the garlic effectively and provides a faint nuttiness. Plain vegetable oil works the identical means if peanut oil isn’t within the pantry.
Learn how to Make
1. Blanch the cauliflower: Convey a big pot of water to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets and cook dinner for two minutes, simply till the stems are half-tender. The florets ought to nonetheless be agency.
2. Shock the florets: Instantly switch the cauliflower to a big bowl of chilly water. This stops the cooking and retains the stems crunchy. Drain when able to stir-fry.
3. Begin the aromatics: Warmth the oil in a big skillet or wok over medium to excessive warmth till shimmering. Add the sliced garlic and stir for just a few seconds, simply till aromatic.
4. Construct the tomato base: Add the diced recent tomato. Stir and cook dinner for 4 to five minutes, till the tomato softens and breaks down right into a unfastened pulp.
5. Deepen with tomato paste: Stir within the tomato paste and blend till the sauce comes collectively. Add the sugar and style. Regulate the sugar by a small quantity in case your tomato is kind of acidic than regular.
6. Toss within the cauliflower: Add the drained cauliflower again to the pan and sprinkle within the salt. Fold slowly with a spatula till each floret is coated within the candy and bitter sauce.
7. Serve: I like serving this stir-fried cauliflower with tomato sauce scorching.
My Cooking Suggestions
Minimize your florets to at least one dimension: Even-sized florets blanch constantly. If half the items are double the scale of the others, the small ones will end soggy by the point the massive ones are tender.
Don’t skip the chilly water shock: The shock is what offers this dish its signature texture. Two minutes in boiling water after which straight into chilly water retains the stems crunchy after they return into the pan.
Style earlier than you end the sugar: Tomatoes range in acidity by means of the yr. In summer season I typically want much less sugar, and in winter when the tomatoes style thinner, I lean a bit increased. Adjusting on the finish retains the candy and bitter in stability.
Toss, don’t stir-fry onerous: As soon as the cauliflower goes again in, I change from a fast stir-fry movement to a sluggish fold. The objective is to coat, to not cook dinner extra. Aggressive tossing breaks the florets.
Serve it instantly: This dish is finest straight from the pan whereas the cauliflower nonetheless has snap. If it sits too lengthy, the sauce retains softening the florets and the feel shifts.
How I really like Serving
On the household desk it is a supporting dish, by no means the star. I serve it subsequent to steamed rice and a richer essential on a weeknight, the place the candy and bitter tomato sauce cuts by means of no matter heavier taste I’ve occurring. It additionally slides simply subsequent to different fast vegetable plates if I’m constructing a fuller household meal, so I pair it with ginger inexperienced beans once I need two greens on the desk with out two lengthy cook dinner occasions.
For a 4 dish household fashion unfold, I lean into it as one of many lighter plates round a richer protein like my Kung Pao Rooster (宫保鸡丁), a savory inexperienced like Cantonese Lettuce with Oyster Sauce, and a starchy plate like vegetable fried rice. If I desire a absolutely vegetarian desk, I swap the rooster for Air Fryer Chinese language Eggplant so I get a delicate contrasting texture towards the crunchy cauliflower.
Regularly Ask Questions
Can I double the recipe for a much bigger household meal?
Sure. I might cook dinner it in a giant wok or a big and deep skillet (12″or bigger). If a giant pan isn’t out there, I cook dinner the cauliflower in two batches if I’m doubling as a result of a crowded pan steams the florets as a substitute of stir-frying them. I blanch and shock the complete quantity in a single pot, then I cook dinner by means of twice in the identical pan with a fast wipe between rounds. The sauce retains texture higher that means than if I attempt to push all the things by means of one tight pan.
Why is my sauce watery as a substitute of thick?
Watery sauce normally means the recent tomato didn’t cook dinner down lengthy sufficient earlier than the tomato paste went in. I let the diced tomato cook dinner right into a unfastened pulp first, then stir within the paste so the 2 work collectively. If the sauce nonetheless seems to be skinny, I let it bubble one other minute over medium to excessive warmth to cut back.
How lengthy do leftovers preserve?
Leftovers preserve in an hermetic container within the fridge for two to three days. The cauliflower softens because it sits within the sauce, so the feel shifts from crunchy to tender. I don’t suggest freezing this dish as a result of the blanched cauliflower releases water on thawing and the feel turns mushy.
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My straightforward stir-fried cauliflower with tomato sauce is a 20 minute Chinese language homestyle aspect, with crunchy cauliflower florets, recent tomato, and a fast candy and bitter pan sauce I make from garlic, tomato paste, and a small quantity of sugar.
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Put together a big bowl of water and put aside.
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Convey a big pot of water to a boil. Add cauliflower and boil for two minutes, till the stem is half cooked, with out getting too tender. Flip off warmth and instantly switch cauliflower to the bowl of water to chill down. This may cease the cauliflower from persevering with to cook dinner and assist it keep crisp. Drain the cauliflower totally.
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Warmth oil in a big skillet over medium-high warmth till scorching. Add the garlic, stir just a few occasions till aromatic.
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Add the tomato. Stir and cook dinner till the tomatoes are very softened, 4 to five minutes. Add tomato paste and blend effectively. Add sugar accordingly to regulate taste of sauce (* see footnote 2).
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Add cauliflower again into the skillet and sprinkle with the salt. Fastidiously use a spatula to combine all the things collectively, till the cauliflower is absolutely coated with the tomato sauce and the cauliflower has reached the specified doneness. Regulate the seasoning by including extra salt or sugar if wanted. Switch all the things to a plate and serve scorching as a essential dish.
Ingredient Substitution Information
- You’ll be able to exchange the lengthy stem Chinese language cauliflower with common white cauliflower. Common white cauliflower is softer than lengthy stem. Shorten cooking time by blanching it for 1 minute as a substitute of two in step 1. Throughout stir-frying, combine the sauce in a mild method, to keep away from breaking the florets.
- The quantity of sugar you need to add will depend on the flavour of the tomato and your desire. In case you use seasonal native tomatoes, you would possibly solely want 1/2 teaspoon sugar. In case you don’t like a candy dish, cut back the quantity to 1 teaspoon or much less. You’ll be able to all the time modify the flavour by including extra sugar ultimately. The dish tastes finest when sugar is effectively balanced with the bitter taste of the tomato, however doesn’t overwhelm it.
Serving: 1serving, Energy: 67kcal, Carbohydrates: 8.4g, Protein: 2g, Fats: 3.5g, Saturated Fats: 0.6g, Sodium: 30mg, Potassium: 339mg, Fiber: 2.3g, Sugar: 5.1g, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 1mg
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