Ken Hom

Cauliflower Thai-style

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Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Serves

    4

Appears in

Ken Hom Cooks Thai

Ken Hom Cooks Thai

By Ken Hom

Published 2001

  • About

Surprisingly enough, the ‘flower vegetables’, broccoli and cauliflower, are members of the cabbage family. Both of them contribute essential elements to a healthy diet. Of the two, cauliflower has the more delicate taste and it benefits from a seasoning boost, such as these Thai flavourings provide. This is a delicious part of any vegetarian meal; it is also a fine accompaniment to any meat course. Remember to use light soy sauce in place of fish sauce for vegetarians.

Ingredients

  • 675 g (1½ lb) cauliflower
  • 5 spring onions
  • 1 tablespoon groundnut (peanut) oil
  • 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
  • 2 large fresh red or green Thai chillies, seeded and finely sliced
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce or light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 150 ml (5 fl oz) water

Method

Cut the cauliflower into small florets about 4 cm (1 ½ in) wide. Cut the spring onions on the diagonal into 2.5 cm (1 in) pieces.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat until it is hot. Add the oil, and when it is very hot and slightly smoking, add the garlic, chillies and spring onions. Stir-fry for about 20 seconds to flavour the oil. Quickly add the cauliflower florets and stir-fry them for 1 minute. Next add the fresh coriander, fish sauce, salt, sugar, turmeric and water. Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. Turn onto a warm serving platter and serve at once.

© 2001 Ken Hom. All rights reserved.