Dry Pot Cauliflower is a restaurant favorite that we’ve had countless times in China. It’s our vegetable of choice when eating out. You might think it sounds boring, but we discovered that cauliflower can be amazingly delicious with a little spice, saltiness and the addition of pork belly.
Why Is it Called “Dry Pot” Cauliflower?
There is a reason why this dish is called Dry Pot Cauliflower, or 干锅菜花 (gan guo cai hua). Restaurants usually serve dishes like this in a miniature wok over a tiny chafing dish flame.
As I write this, I’m remembering the thin layer of sliced onions at the bottom. The onions caramelize in the sauce from the heat of the little flame as you eat, preventing the cauliflower from overcooking and adding a perfect little surprise at the end of the dish.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a small chafing dish setup, but if you do, why not try this with that thin layer of sliced onions at the bottom?
You may be familiar with dry pot dishes, as there’s a big variety of ingredients prepared in this way––you can find dry pot chicken wings, dry pot beef, and even dry pot frog legs! In China, it usually has its own section on the menu to let you pick and choose from different combinations.
See if You Can Find This Special Cauliflower Variety
One other note before we start cooking. You’ll notice the cauliflower I used here is pretty unique looking. In Beijing, they call it “organic cauliflower” (but I doubt it’s organic), and in other Chinese produce markets, it’s called Taiwanese cauliflower. Online, I’ve also found names like fioretto, karifurore cauliflower, flowering cauliflower, and sprouting cauliflower.
This variety of cauliflower has small flower buds and long, light green stems. It tastes sweeter and more herbaceous than your standard white cauliflower.
It’s also less dense and more tender than regular cauliflower, and soaks up sauces and flavor a bit better, I find.
But you can use any cauliflower you can find for this recipe!
Dry Pot Cauliflower Recipe Instructions
Prepare the pork belly. Marinate it with ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine. Set aside. Wash the cauliflower and cut it into bite sized pieces.
Heat the oil in a wok set over medium heat. Cook the garlic for a minute. Add the ginger and dried red chilies (if using), and cook for another minute.
Add the pork…all in one layer on the surface of the wok.
Turn up the heat, and cook until the meat turns opaque.
Next, add the cauliflower and red bell peppers. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon ground white pepper, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and ½ cup water. Stir, cover, and cook for 1- 2 minutes. (I like more tender cauliflower, so I cook it for 2 minutes.)
Uncover, add the scallions, give it a stir, and serve!
Dry Pot Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pork belly (225g, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (plus ½ teaspoon, divided)
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce (plus 1 tablespoon, divided)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (plus 1 tablespoon, divided)
- 1 pound cauliflower (450g)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 10 cloves garlic
- 4 slices ginger (julienned)
- 3 dried chilies (chopped, optional)
- ½ of a red bell pepper (sliced)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup water
- 3 scallions (cut into 2-inch lengths)
Instructions
- Prepare the pork belly. Marinate it with ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine. Set aside. Wash the cauliflower and cut it into bite sized pieces.
- Heat the oil in a wok set over medium heat. Cook the garlic cloves for a minute. Add the ginger and chilies (if using), and cook for another minute. Add the pork, turn up the heat, and cook until the meat turns opaque.
- Next, add the cauliflower and red bell peppers. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon ground white pepper, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and ½ cup water. Stir, cover, and cook for 1- 2 minutes. (I like more tender cauliflower, so I cook it for 2 minutes.)
- Uncover, add the scallions, give it a stir, and serve!
nutrition facts
Hi. This recipe looks amazing. I grow this cauliflower every year and am really looking forward to making this dish. If I fond it somewhere sooner I will make it. I will be checking the Chinese supermarket.
Sounds good, Teresa, let us know how you like it :-)
I just bought this variety of cauliflower at the famer’s market yesterday and I am so excited to try this dish tomorrow. One question though….the ingredients list (optional) dried chilis but what’s pictured appears to be a fresh red chili. What kind of chili is that? It looks like a longer birds eye chili, but I’m not sure. Thank you in advance! All of your recipes look so good!
Hi Jeffrey, you can use bird’s eye chilies or dried chilies, more or less to suit your own taste and what you have :-) I do prefer fresh chilies myself :-)
Tried this with broccoli, and it was very good! Thank you!
Yayy! Haven’t seen a comment on this recipe for a long while, and glad to see it has your attention :-)
is the nutritional facts for each serving or the whole dish?
Hi vanessa, the nutritional values should be per serving.
Hi Vanessa, it’s for each serving.
This was delicious and I would make it again with a few changes. The water did not need to be added for me. It didn’t boil off and we were left with a soup, so we had to strain it. The pork belly needs to be fried in a pan/wok with a large surface area so it can all be cooked equally and quickly otherwise it takes a while (I used a small wok). The oil didn’t need to be added since the pork belly had fat that produced enough oil for the dish. The less oil the better for me. I also didn’t add the sugar, bell peppers or the red pepper and it still came I put delicious.
Good job, Amanda! Feel free to make the adjustments to suit you.
I live in Beijing and when my friends and I dinne out we make up a pretty varied group since we are all from different countries. This dish is the one that every single one of us likes and never fails to be delicious, no matter if you order it in a high end restaurant or that place in your neighbourhood just around the coner.
Totally agree, Cristina, we share your sentiment :-)
This was very tasty 😋 much better than some other recipes
So glad you enjoyed it, Anna.
I hope you meant better than recipes from OTHER websites 😀