America's Culinary Cup
Baker:
Season:
Week:
Challenge Type:
Kung Pao Cauliflower
Kung Pao Cauliflower with Cashew Butter and Pickled Chilies
Cara: "My hot dish is a kung pao cauliflower, which is a classic Szechuan-style stir fry made with cauliflower instead of chicken."
Cara: "I'm starting on cauliflower florets, and I'm gonna brine them in some kimchi juice. They're gonna get deep fried for gongbaoji. Just want some acid pumped into them because, you know, the whole sour challenge — adding kimchi juice in is not standard, but I want to reinforce the sour to make sure that we have another layer of acid in the dish."
Cara: "I'm making a kung pao sauce for the kung pao cauliflower. There's an acidic product in every component in the sauce except for sugar, because you need some balance there. Cashew butter is going to add a lot of fat to cut through the acid. So that combination allows you to balance the acid, but make it the star of the show."
Cara (presenting): "So, hot and sour kung pao cauliflower. It's a classic dish from Sichuan. There's some cashew butter on the bottom, some pickled chilies."
Padma: "I know this dish well. This is a particularly good version of it. I think you got a lot of tart and sour notes, and they're very well layered. I think you did an excellent job."
Michael: "I love the spice level that exists in this dish. The sour element definitely comes through. And then the cashew butter itself, just kind of the perfect foil for all of that acidity and all of that spice."
Wiley: "I feel it's got a lot of umami. I would actually like to see it a little bit more sour."
Michael (deliberation): "The cauliflower dish — I mean, it seems to be two against one."
Padma (deliberation): "I just think she didn't need so much of the sauce."
Michael (deliberation): "Kara's cauliflower dish was sour yet balanced."
Would you like us to create a recipe to match this dish?
We try to create several recipes every day, and we'd love to prioritize a recipe for you. Just fill out the form and watch your inbox - no cost, no catch.
Your request has been submitted
An error occurred. Try again later
