Cauliflower popcorn with black vinegar dipping sauce
Serves: 4 (as a starter)
You’ll need
● 1 cauliflower, cut into small florets ● Small handful of Thai basil leaves
● 6 spring onions, thinly sliced
● 2 red chillies, sliced ● 4 garlic cloves, sliced ● Groundnut oil, for deep-frying ● Lime wedges, to serve
For the dipping sauce:
● 100ml Chinkiang black vinegar ● 80ml light soy sauce ● 1 red chilli, chopped
Method
1. To make the dipping sauce, simply whisk all the ingredients together.
2. For the batter, heat a dry frying pan over medium heat and toast the peppercorns until they are aromatic. Tip into a pestle and mortar, along with the salt, and crush to a coarse powder. Empty out into a mixing bowl, add both flours and mix well. Now whisk in the sparkling water, adding just enough to make a batter with a doublecream consistency, be careful not to overbeat.
3. Fill a large, heavybased saucepan a third full with the deep-frying oil. Heat the oil to 180C – if you don’t have a thermometer, you will know the oil is ready when a cube of bread turns golden brown in 20
● Small thumb of ginger, finely grated
● 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
● 1 tsp caster sugar ● 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
For the batter:
● 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
● 2 tsp black peppercorns
● 2 tsp sea salt ● 200g plain flour
● 4 tbsp cornflour ● 300ml ice-cold sparkling water seconds. Dip the pieces of cauliflower into the batter, one at a time, letting the excess drip off, and deepfry until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
4. Dip the basil leaves in batter and fry in the same way. When you have finished frying the cauliflower and basil leaves, carefully pour out most of the oil from the pan, leaving just a few tablespoons. Place over medium–high heat and flash-fry the spring onions, chillies and garlic for a minute or so, until the garlic is just beginning to colour. Drain on kitchen paper, scatter over the cauliflower and toss.
5. Serve immediately, with lime wedges for squeezing and the dipping sauce alongside.
Jikoni: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes From An Immigrant Kitchen by Ravinder Bhogal, photography by Kristin Perers, Bloomsbury, £26, available now