One of our favourite go-to places for a night out with friends is Cardiff's brilliant board game bar Chance and Counters. They've got a great selection of local beers on tap and you can order a mix of super tasty American style tapas dishes, one of which is their Buffalo Cauliflower Wings. They are without a doubt the best thing on the menu and we will never go without ordering some.
To feed our cravings, I had to give these a try myself and I am really happy with how they turned out, and I think you will be too! The sauce is super simple and comes together in 5 minutes and the cauliflower is perfectly crispy and light thanks to the inclusion of panko breadcrumbs! If you're not sure about switching out chicken for cauliflower, we weren't either, but now we've done it there is no going back, these are far nicer. They're a great appetiser to put on the table or pass around a crowd, or a perfect bank holiday treat to have with a beer.
Just make sure you keep an eye on the temperature of the oil as you don't want them to burn. Give them a go and let me know what you think!
INGREDIENTS (Makes a batch)
1 head of cauliflower
125g plain flour
60g cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
200g panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
230ml water
1 tablespoon hot sauce (we use Frank's original)
Vegetable oil for frying
Spring onion for garnish (optional)
Buffalo Sauce:
100ml hot sauce
50g unsalted butter
1tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic granules
1/2 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS
Chop the cauliflower into florets. It doesn't really matter how big or small these are as they'll cook perfectly fine in the oil either way.
To make the batter, combine the flour, cornflour, baking powder, salt and herbs and spices in a bowl. In a separate jug, measure out the water and add the hot sauce. Gradually whisk the liquid into the flour mix until you have a smooth batter.
Pour out approximately 200g of panko breadcrumbs in a separate bowl and set aside.
Heat a deep fryer or a pan of vegetable oil to approximately 180 degrees. Don't worry if this is slightly higher as the temperature will drop when the pan is full.
Dip each piece of cauliflower in the batter then roll in panko breadcrumbs until covered and carefully place into the hot oil. I'd usually prep and cook in batches of 5-6 pieces at a time. Fry the cauliflower until golden brown then drain on kitchen roll and redo the same process until all the cauliflower is battered.
Next, make the hot sauce. You can do this in advance and reheat it but it only takes a couple of minutes to come together so leaving it until afterwards is fine. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and cook on a medium high heat for a couple of minutes then take off the heat and leave it to sit for a further 2 minutes to allow it to thicken slightly.
Now it's time to assemble and you can do this as you like! We like to put it all on one plate and pour half the sauce over with some spring onions on top, then have a small pot of sauce on the side for dipping but it's entirely up to you how you do this. If you're a hot sauce fiend then pour the whole lot over!
And it's as easy as that! If you give these I try I promise you'll be back for more. Don't forget you can also reuse the oil. Just wait until it's cooled and give it a sieve when you're pouring it back into a bottle/container and you can use it again next time.
As ever if you give this one a try, please do let me know. I love seeing photos of what you've made so don't forget to snap a picture and tag me on instagram or twitter. Happy Cooking and enjoy the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend!