gochujang cauliflower

Gochujang Cauliflower with Fresh Herbs - Raw or Baked

Kathy Taylor at Plant Life Journey Retreats

Zesty gochujang dressing, fresh herbs, chewy sweet dates and crunchy pistachios combine to make this delicious cruciferous goodness! Amazing textures, sweet and savory flavors and loaded with fiber and nutrients. Serve as a side with our Gochujang Tofu or over a bed of greens. This recipe can be made with baked cauliflower or with raw cauliflower, and the dressing can be spicy or mild by adjusting the amount of gochujang paste. Our measurements are for a double batch of dressing, so you can make the dish a little extra saucey or have enough leftover to use as a veggie dip for a later time (goes great with cucumbers). See notes below for tips about gochujang paste.

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Prep Time 15

Course Dressing, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Asian, Whole Food Plant Based

Ingredients

Baked Cauliflower (or skip baking for Raw)

1 head cauliflower or save time and use a bag of florets
1 TBSP lemon juice if making baked version
salt & pepper to taste if making baked version

Gochujang Sauce / Dressing

6 TBSP Tahini
2 TBSP Water
2 tsp Gochujang Paste use gochujang PASTE not gochujang sauce; add more for spicier dish
3 TBSP Lemon Juice
2 TBSP pure Maple Syrup add another 1/2 TBSP if increasing Gochujang paste
3/4 tsp salt +/- to taste

Topping to Garnish - adjust quantities to taste

2 to 4 Medjool Dates remove pits & chop into small pieces
1/4 cup raw pistachios remove from shells & lightly chop
fresh mint lightly chopped
fresh dill lightly chopped

Instructions

Baked Cauliflower or Raw

For Raw, cut cauliflower into smaller bite-size chunks, skip lemon juice, seasoning and baking instructions and proceed to making the gochujang sauce.
For Baked, preheat oven to 425F. Cut cauliflower into large bite-sized chunks, toss in lemon juice then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Then bake for 20 to 30 minutes, to desired tenderness.

Gochujang Sauce / Dressing

Combine all sauce ingredients (tahini through salt) in a small bowl or wide mouth glass mason jar. Whisk until all combined.

Combine & Plate

Once cauliflower is baked (unless you are skipping for Raw version), add cauliflower to a large bowl. Pour your desired amount of sauce over the cauliflower and stir gently to coat every piece. At this point, you may stir in the toppings OR for better presentation and color, we recommend placing the gochujang cauliflower in a serving bowl or individual bowls and sprinkle each with the toppings.

Notes

When purchasing, make sure to get Gochujang PASTE. There are many Gochujang SAUCES out there, most have oil or refined sugar, etc. This recipe uses PASTE to make a thick creamy sauce without refined oil or sugar.

If you are unfamiliar, Gochujang paste is not too hard to come by. We like the one from Trader Joe's, but when they were temporarily out of it, we found it at H-Mart. Check your local Asian grocer. When purchasing, check the ingredients (no oil, no sugar, etc) and also the spice level. Some are extra hot... this recipe is based on the milder Trader Joe's product.

Once you find a Gochujang paste you prefer, check out our Gochujang Tofu recipe to pair with this cauliflower dish.

Keyword cauliflower, dairy-free, gochujang, raw, vegan, wfpbno

Gochujang Cauliflower with Fresh Herbs – Raw or Baked