Korean Cauliflower. Spicy, flavorful and oh so delicious. Make these in the air fryer or the oven, this cauliflower would be great in tacos, wraps or with a bowl of white rice with some gim.
I saw someone on TikTok trying the Korean cauliflower from a fast food restaurant and thought: I can make that at home. Truth be told, the best way to enjoy these would be to deep fry the cauliflower but I wanted to post a method that didn’t use oil and a method that was easier to make. Air fryer or oven? With this recipe, I think you’ll get the same outcome. Some parts of your cauliflower will get a little charred with both methods, which I love. This cauliflower is not crunchy. If you want crunchy, after you add the cauliflower to the gochujang batter, coat the cauliflower with panko and then air fry or bake in the oven.
For the oven method: I did increase the temperature and hit these under the broiler for a few minutes before removing them from the oven.
For this recipe, I add the cauliflower to my batter mix and mix together. You can cut your cauliflower pieces as little or as big as you want but I wouldn’t go any larger than a floret size. Also, if you do bake in the oven, I highly recommend using an oven-safe wire rack on your baking sheet if you can. I think it helps to bake the cauliflower on a wire rack and not have it sit directly on the baking sheet.
The Key Ingredient: Gochujang
If you can handle the heat, go for the full 1/3 cup. I must warn you, this was spicy for my husband and his heat tolerance is very high. I thought the heat was nice. If you want to play it on the safer side, use just a 1/4 cup of gochujang. I hope you try this recipe!
Air Fried Korean Cauliflower
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1/2 head cauliflower (about 4 heaping cups) chopped into florets or small pieces
- 1/2 cup almond flour*
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup gochujang**
- 2 tablespoons honey***
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon water + more of needed
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut aminos
- green onions diced for garnish
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer (or oven) to 400 degrees. See notes above if using an oven. (oven temp is different). Chop up your caulflower into florets or small 1-inch pieces. Using a large mixing bowl, combine and whisk together all of the ingredients from the almond flour* to the soy sauce. If the batter seems too thick, you can add another tablespoon of water. Taste, and adjust anything as needed.
- Add the cauliflower into the bowl and mix together until all of the cauliflower is nicely coated with the gochujang batter. If making the "crunchy cauliflower", coat each one in panko and proceed.
- When the air fryer is preheated and ready to go, place the cauliflower into your air fryer drawer or on the racks and air fry for about 8 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through. Be sure to watch your cauliflower so it doesn't burn. Repeat until all of the cauliflower is air fried or baked.
- When serving: garnish with some green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy this Korean cauliflower just by itself, or in a taco or wrap or with a bowl of rice. Enjoy!
Notes
More Recipes Using Gochujang
Gochujang, Korean hot pepper paste, is truly a staple in Korean food cooking. I use it in so many recipes so if you purchase a new tub for this recipe, not to worry! You can certainly use it up! Here are just some of my favorites!
Korean Meatballs with a gochujang glaze
This was amazing! Would highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick, easy, and delicious meal. I had just the cauliflower and ended up mixing rice wine vinegar and soy sauce for dipping, but excited to try over rice or in tacos for a bigger meal. 11/10 – and would recommend the full 1/3 cup of gochujang for those who like a slow build of spice!
Made this last night. We loved it. I used a whole head of cauliflower and adjusted other ingredients accordingly. I did not have almond flour so used all-purpose with the cornstarch. I rolled the battered cauliflower in whole wheat panko and baked it in the oven since I had such a larger amount to cook. Served on brown rice.
What are the oven directions?
Listed at the top of the recipe card: You can also bake these in the oven: 425 degrees for about 18 to 20 minutes. If desired, turn to the broiler setting (500 degrees) for the last 3 minutes of cooking to get a little char on top.