Vegan Dry Pot Cauliflower Recipe| Gan Guo Hua Cai

Dry pot cauliflower or Gan Guo Hua Cai is a classic, delicious Sichuan dish featuring cauliflower. If you like cauliflower and you want to try a new way of cooking it, here is a perfect dish from Sichuan! Traditionally this dish is made with pork belly but for this recipe, we are making it vegan! I mean what’s better than cooking this dish vegan and not sacrificing all of the incredible flavors?

As for replacing pork belly, I used beancurd. It is very easy to find in Asian grocery stores and I recommend using a kind with a darker skin, usually flavored.

What kind of cauliflower is best for dry pot cauliflower?

I use Chinese organic cauliflower for this dish. This kind of cauliflower has long stems and it will have a cruncher texture after cooking. You can typically find them in Chinese/Asian grocery stores. And of course, you can use regular cauliflower or organic cauliflower to substitute.

To prepare the cauliflower, cut off the crowns with stems and chop into smaller pieces. Wash clean with water. Then sprinkle some salt and mix in the salt. Marinate for 10-15 minutes. This step creates a more even flavor for the cauliflower after cooking!

What are other seasonings needed for dry pot cauliflower?

Other seasonings include garlic, ginger, spring onion, red chili peppers (I used fresno), Sichuan peppercorn, dry chili, soy sauce (light and dark), salt, sugar. It is a very simple combination but the flavors created by this combo is so good! You absolutely have to try this dish.

Do you need to deep-fry the cauliflower?

Although some recipes may suggest deep-frying the cauliflowers, I think it is not necessary. And for a healthier dish, deep-frying is not desired. Restaurants do this to add flavors, but for home-cooking, it is truly not necessary. You don’t need to blanch the cauliflower either. Simply fry them in the wok until perfectly cooked!

If you like vegan dishes, you might also like:

Chili Oil “Flower” Tofu – Sichuan Douhua

Chinese Spinach Salad

Oyster Mushroom Salad (Vegan)

Ingredients

Cauliflower 1 whole

Beancurd 3 pieces

Salt for coating cauliflower 1/4 tsp

Garlic 2 cloves

Ginger 1 piece

Spring onion 3

Red chili 2

Sichuan Peppercorn 1 tsp

Dry Chili 4-5

Light Soy Sauce 2 tps

Dark Soy Sauce 1/2 tsp

Sugar 1/2 tsp

Cooking oil 2 tbsp

Shaoxing wine 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Cut off the cauliflower crowns, if you are using organic cauliflower, use as much stem as possible because they are so yummy. Split larger pieces into smaller ones. 
2. In a container, wash cauliflower pieces with water then drain. Sprinkle a 1/4 tsp salt on the washed cauliflower. Mix well. This will add a good base flavor for the cauliflower pieces. 
3. Next let’s slice the beancurd. Simply slice beancurd evenly and add to a plate.
4. Slice the red chilies into pieces. The red chilies add a beautiful color to this dish. You can use not spicy spices as well if you’d like more mild taste. Slice garlic, ginger. Slice the green part of spring onion into 1 inch pieces. 
5. Prepare a few dry chilies, chop into smaller pieces. Remove seeds.  Take out some Sichuan peppercorn for that classic numbing flavor.
6. Make a simple sauce with light soy sauce 2 tsp, dark soy sauce 1/2 tsp, sugar 1/2 tsp, mix well and set aside. 
7. In a wok, generously add cooking oil, about 2 tbsp, drop in dry chilies, then sichuan peppercorn, add garlic and ginger slices. Stir until fragrant.
8. Add cauliflower, stir fry for 2-3 minutes, add shaoxing wine via the side of the wok. 
9. Drop in bean curd. stir fry for another 2-3 minutes, add red peppers, Cook until cauliflower is soft, mix in the sauce.
10. Taste for salt and add salt to taste. I didn’t add any salt for mine because the sauce and salt added to cauliflower pieces in the beginning was salty enough. Lastly Add spring onion, give it a good mix and turn off the fire. It’s time to serve and enjoy!

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