** Updated 11/5/2020** A vegan spin on Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken using cauliflower. Crispy and golden-brown on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside.

Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken is hands down one of my favorite foods in the entire world — they hold a special place in my heart. Some of my most cherished memories with my friends involved getting popcorn chicken together. There’s something about having a bag of warm bag of chicken in one hand, and a wooden prick in the other that just makes me feel so empowered, as if I was a Taiwanese mafia sauntering down the street.
Then I thought, could I make a vegan version of this almighty popcorn chicken that looks and tastes just as good? Cauliflower seemed like a viable alternative — I’ve had seen a lot of people deep-fry cauliflower to make dishes such as buffalo wings. After many trials with different batters, spices, and flours, I’ve finally settled on this recipe.

The cauliflower, after deep-frying, is so incredibly tender. And the batter, after frying, becomes so incredibly crispy and crunchy. Not much more to explain here; this veggie-fied popcorn chicken is one of my proudest dishes, and I cannot wait to share with you all. Without further ado, let’s get into the recipe!
Used an airfryer instead, so I ended with a wet batter layer than the flour mixture. It turned out great – so delicious 🙂
yay!! i’m soo glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂 check out the new Taiwanese “Chicken” recipe too!
This was delicious, I love how crispy it stayed even after it cooled! I would put a bit less 5 spice next time, the flavor was a bit overpowering and it wouldn’t dissolve properly in the mixture. Will definitely make this again!
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