Bang bang cauliflower with a spicy dipping sauce

This recipe for crispy bang bang cauliflower with spicy dipping sauce is packed with flavour and a delicious party snack. You can make the sauce as hot as you want.

Cauliflower seems to be the most versatile vegetable on the planet. It masquerades as a carb when you turn it into rice, couscous or mash.

It can morph into a delicious alfredo-style sauce and pairs really well with cheese. Ottolenghi even made it into the most delicious cake. I love it roasted whole with just olive oil using this famous recipe and it’s always wonderful in a stir fry.

I knew that crumbing and deep-frying it would be a winning formula too and which is why I chose to do this Bang-Bang cauliflower as my third recipe with Hellmann’s mayonnaise. I made a sweet & spicy dipping sauce because obviously, you want to dip these golden crunchy nuggets into something delicious.

This is an excellent recipe to serve as a snack with drinks or at a party. I like to garnish it with slices of fresh chill, coriander leaves and chopped spring onions. If you are serving this to kids you could take out the sriracha from the mayo and replace it with tomato sauce. 

*Cooks notes – Panko crumbs are the dry white Japanese bread crumbs available at some retailers and Asian supermarkets. They work best with this recipe to deliver maximum crunch. Make the dipping sauce as spicy and sweet as you like by adjusting the quantity of sweet chilli and sriracha hot sauce. Follow the technique I describe in the method below for the crumbing stage where you use your left hand to do the dipping and your right hand to do the crumb coat. This prevents a whole lot of mess and clumping. Trust me on this one.

Make this immediately before you eat it.

Here is how to make bang-bang cauliflower:

 Recipe – makes one large plate to serve a few people at a party

Bang bang cauliflower with a spicy dipping sauce

A delicious recipe for crumbed bang bang cauliflower with a spicy dipping sauce.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:10 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 medium/large head of cauliflower cut into bite-size florets
• 1//2 cup flour
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• salt & pepper
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 2 cups panko crumbs
• sunflower oil for frying aprox 700ml
• Serve with wedges of lime or lemon chopped spring onions, sliced chill and fresh coriander/cilantro for garnishing (optional)

Spicy dipping sauce:

• 1/2 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
• 2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
• 1 - 2 tsp sriracha hot sauce depending nohow hot you like it
• a spritz of lemon or lime juice

Instructions

• Heat the sunflower in a high-sided pot until it reaches 180 C / 350 F.
• Make the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients 
• Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets and toss in a  large bowl with the flour, and dried chilli flakes, and season well with salt & pepper.
• In another bowl lightly beat the eggs and prepare a flattish dish with the panko crumbs.
• To coat the cauliflower, pick up the cauliflower in your left hand and shake any excess off. Still using your left hand, dip this in the egg until well coated.
• Tap any excess and drop this into the crumbs. Now using your right hand, cover the floret with the crumbs and lightly toss to coat then place on a tray. Continue to do this until all the florets are dipped and coated. Ensuring your right hand never gets wet really helps in keeping the breading process neat and tidy.
• When you have all your florets lined up and ready and the oil has reached the right temperature, fry in batches until golden brown. Drain on a plate that has been lined with double sheets of paper towel.

Notes

Prep everything in advance so you just need to fry off the crumbed cauliflower florets just before serving.

Author: Sam Linsell

*This post is proudly sponsored by Hellmann’s

Another fave cauliflower recipe:

Creamy oven risotto with roasted cauliflower, spinach & sage

Find me on Instagram