How to fry cauliflower
Deep-fry cauliflower in oil at 375°F (190°C) for about 8–10 min, until the cauliflower is tender and the coating light brown. Treat the time as a starting point: piece size, batch size and your pot all change it, so watch the color and the oil thermometer rather than the clock.
- Oil temperature
- 375°F (190°C)
- Method
- Deep fry
- Starting time
- 8–10 minFlorets dipped in a thin flour, cornstarch and club soda batter and fried a few at a time.
- Piece size
- florets
- Done when
- the cauliflower is tender and the coating light brown
Numbers from Taste of Home: General Tso's Cauliflower. Celsius values are rounded.
Getting it right
- Use a heavy, deep pot or a countertop fryer and fill it no higher than its safe fill line. The oil rises when food goes in.
- Clip a frying thermometer to the pot and bring the oil to 375°F (190°C). Keep the sensor in the oil, off the base of the pot.
- Pat the food dry before any coating. Water on the surface spits in hot oil and steams the crust soft.
- Lower a small batch in, away from you. The temperature will drop; adjust the burner so it climbs back toward the target.
- Lift out with a skimmer onto a rack over a tray, salt while hot, and let the oil recover before the next batch.
Why the temperature matters: oil that is too cool lets the coating soak up fat before it sets, so the outside goes heavy and pale. Oil that is too hot browns the outside before the middle is ready. The thermometer is how you hold the window between the two.