This sesame cauliflower is my vegetarian take on one of the most-loved recipes on my site: sesame chicken. You get that same glossy, sticky, sweet-savoury sauce… but with cauliflower florets that turn tender in the middle and lightly charred at the edges.
What I love most is how fast it is. No batter, no oven time, no faff. Just a hot wok, a quick stir fry for flavour, then a short simmer so the sauce clings to every nook and cranny (cauliflower is basically made for sticky sauces, isn’t it?).
Why This Sesame Cauliflower Works
This sesame cauliflower works so well because it gives you all the flavour of a sticky sesame fakeaway, without the heaviness that often comes with battered versions.
Instead of coating the cauliflower in batter and deep- or air-frying it, we go straight into a hot wok with sesame oil. That quick stir-fry gives the florets a lightly charred edge and a deeper savoury flavour, without extra oil or faff. It’s lighter, faster, and far more weeknight-friendly.
A short simmer in stock does two clever things:
- it tenderises the cauliflower just enough,
- and it helps the sauce seep right into the florets rather than sitting on the outside.
Finishing with a small cornflour slurry thickens the sauce right at the end, so you still get that satisfying clingy coating—just without the need for batter, breadcrumbs, or a pile of washing up.
📋 Ingredients for Sesame Cauliflower
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Stir-fry cauliflower florets in sesame oil until lightly charred, then bubble briefly with stock to soften while keeping a little bite. Add garlic, sweet chilli, honey, soy and vinegar, simmer until glossy, thicken lightly and serve with rice, sesame seeds and spring onions.
Recipe Tips
- Add more vegetables to this dish if you like – broccoli and mushrooms are a great addition that take a similar amount of time as the cauliflower to cook.
- You can prep the cauliflower florets and mix the sauce ingredients ahead, but I’d cook it close to serving for the best texture. The sauce thickens as it sits, and the cauliflower softens over time.
Sticky-sweet, savoury, and just a little tangy, with sesame warmth and chilli sweetness—plus those lightly charred cauliflower edges that make it deliciously addictive.
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🍽️ What to serve it with
I like to serve it topped with plenty of sesame seeds and lots of fluffy boiled rice. But it also goes great with:
📺 Watch how to make it
-
Break the cauliflower florets into bitesize pieces
600 g (1.3lb) cauliflower florets
-
Heat the sesame oil in a wok over a medium heat.
2 tablespoons sesame oil
-
When hot, add the cauliflower, salt and pepper. Stir fry for 5 minutes, until the cauliflower starts to become tender and is starting to brown at the edges.
Pinch of salt and pepper
-
Add the stock and turn up the heat to high, continue to cook cauliflower in the bubbling stock, tossing it together regularly, for 3 minutes.
120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable stock
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Add the garlic, white wine vinegar, honey, sweet chilli sauce, tomato ketchup, light brown sugar and soy sauce and stir together.
3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce, 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
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Bring to the boil, turn the heat down to medium, and allow the mixture to simmer, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
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Move the cauliflower over to once side of the wok and stir in the cornflour slurry to thicken the sauce. Cook for 1 further minute, then turn off the heat.
½ tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water to form a slurry
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Serve the sesame cauliflower with rice, topped with sesame seeds and spring onions.
2 teaspoons mixed black and white sesame seeds, 2 spring onions, Boiled or fried rice
Tip: Add more vegetables to this dish if you like – broccoli and mushrooms are a great addition that take a similar amount of time as the cauliflower to cook.
Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 909mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 24g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Sesame Cauliflower was first posted in Jan 2026.
🍲 More Cauliflower Recipes
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