Sweet & Sour Crunchy Cauliflower Noodles

This is seriously good! Sweet & twangy from the sauce, which sits laced over crunchy delectable cauliflower & tender noodz. Yum-o! I've adapted a recipe from Hetty McKinnon's cookbook Family, so that it's less 'hands on' and has a sure-fire way to ensure the cauliflower is cooked all the way through. Hope you give this a go and can par-take in the saucy-noodly hit I was very much grateful for :)

A fab variation on this would be to do it with some battered tofu as well, delish!

Ingredients

• 1 medium-large cauliflower, broken into bite sized florets
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup chickpea (besan) flour
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup unsweetened plant milk
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water
• 1 cup GF breadcrumbs (or non GF breadcrumbs)
• olive oil
• 3 tbsp brown rice syrup
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce for non GF)
• 3 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp water
• 280g GF ramen-style noodles (or regular ramen noodles, or rice noodles etc.)
• drizzle sesame oil
• to serve: chopped spring onions, sesame seeds

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220C.
2. In a large bowl, add the brown rice flour, chickpea flour, garlic powder and salt & pepper, and whisk until combined. Make a well in the centre and add the plant milk and water (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp amount), whisking from the centre outwards until smooth.
3. In another bowl, tip in the breadcrumbs and while your at it, grab a baking tray.
4. Take a cauli floret, and coat thoroughly in the batter, tapping to remove the excess, toss in the crumbs and place on the tray. Repeat to use up all the cauliflower. Drizzle a little olive oil over the cauliflower and bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Flip & drizzle a little more oil on the floret, then bake for 10 minutes more in the oven.
5. Meanwhile, make your sauce by adding the brown rice syrup, vinegar, tamari, tomato sauce and garlic to a small sauce pan. Whisk to combine and bring to a gentle simmer. Whisk the cornflour and 2 tbsp of water together in a small bowl and when the sauce is bubbling, add it to the saucepan and whisk, until the sauce thickens. It will only take a minute or two. Turn off the heat & set aside until ready to serve.
6. Cook your noodles according to packet instructions as well, then when done, drain and to prevent them from sticking together, drizzle a little sesame oil over them & toss with a fork.
7. Serve the noodles, with the crunchy cauliflower and the sweet & sour sauce. Top with sesame seeds and spring onions if you desire :)