Vegan Katsu Cauliflower Tacos with Asian Slaw

 These super vibrant and colourful tacos are not only delicious and flavoursome, but healthy and packed with vegetables too! The cauliflower is baked in a katsu curry batter until crispy, and served over soft, homemade tortillas with a creamy, low-fat coleslaw. So delicious!

Serves: 4 (3 tacos each)

Ingredients:

For the katsu curry crispy cauliflower:

• 2 medium cauliflowers 
• drizzle olive oil 
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• spices: 1 tbsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 2 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 50g all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• salt and pepper
• 100ml soy milk 

For the coleslaw:

• 1 small sweet potato
• drizzle olive oil
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp vegan fish sauce (or sub more soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tbsp mirin
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 red chili, finely chopped (or sub with red chili flakes)
• 1/2 a red cabbage, shredded
• 1-2 grated carrots
• a few sliced spring onions
• a handful fresh coriander

To serve:

• 12 small flour tortillas (I use this recipe) or taco shells
• handful coriander
• avocado, sliced
• fresh slices of lime
• spring onions, chopped
• pickled red cabbage (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Prepare the cauliflower: chop into medium sized florets. Rinse thoroughly then set aside to dry whilst you prepare the batter.
3. Make katsu curry sauce: heat a little olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, and cook for about 5 minutes until softened, then add the carrots, garlic, and grated ginger. Fry for about 8-10 minutes. 
4. Stir in the spices (curry powder, garam masala, coriander, turmeric) and a little salt and pepper, and cook for a minute until fragrant. 
5. Stir in tomato puree, soy sauce, mirin, vegetable stock, and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, until the carrots have softened.
6. Meanwhile, chop half the sweet potato into chunks and toss in a little olive oil and the sesame seeds, add roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. 
7. Once the carrots have softened, remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the curry together until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning and spices. 
8. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, the baking powder, and the salt and pepper. Pour in the soy milk and HALF the katsu curry mixture, leaving the rest in the pan for later. Whisk the flour, soy milk and curry sauce together until a thick batter forms, adding more flour if it's too runny and more soy milk if it's too thick. 
9. Toss in the washed cauliflower florets and stir until evenly coated. Transfer them to a lined baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crispy and golden. 

Meanwhile, make the coleslaw:

1. To make the dressing: chop the rest of the sweet potato into small (1cm) pieces, and add to a pot of boiling water. Boil for about 10 minutes, until fork tender. Once cooked, drain and add to a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
2. Add to the blender the rice vinegar, soy sauce, vegan fish sauce, lime juice, sesame oil and mirin, and blend with the sweet potato. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
3. Pour this dressing over the cabbage, carrot, garlic, chili, spring onion and coriander, and mix together to create the creamy coleslaw. 
4. Once the roasted sweet potato is cooked, stir this into the coleslaw also. 

To serve:

1. Warm up the leftover katsu curry sauce if you like.
2. Place the crispy cauliflower on the tortillas (make sure to scrape the crispy bits off the baking tray!), and top with a drizzle of the leftover curry sauce.
3. Add the coleslaw. Serve with toppings of your choice such as lime slices, avocado, fresh coriander, chopped spring onion, and pickled red cabbage.

Enjoy! :)