Vegan *Spicy* Air-Fried Cauliflower Wings

Denver often has the reputation of being very fusion-heavy when it comes to restaurants, but there are some gems unique to this city. Watercourse Foods owns its namesake 100% vegan restaurant Watercourse, a vegetarian restaurant City 'O City and a vegan, gluten-free friendly Make, Believe Bakery. I recently got to to try the first two. Vegan cooking has always impressed me for its ingenuity, from using aquafaba (chickpea juice) as meringue for macarons to the use of green jackfruit to create 'pulled pork'. I've personally found vegan macarons a tried-and-true strategy. 

Going back to these restaurants, I was smitten. I couldn't get enough of the crispy, crunchy, crackly mouthfeel of the fried cauliflower, both in a 'chicken' and waffles dish, as well as just as as Buffalo cauli wings. Once home, I was inspired to try it out myself as an air-fried version. The sad thing is, the first thing I made when we got our air fryer was Buffalo cauliflower, but with less memorable results. I realized I'd been missing two key components-- 1) a double dredging and 2) Frank's RedHot.

1) a double dredging is what gives the extra crunch. You cannot get away with just a simple almond flour coating as I'd tried the first time around. It is a bit more effort but entirely worth it. The only trick here is to use separate hands or utensils for handling the 'wet' and 'dry' dredging so you don't end up with a mound of goop on your hands by the end. Remember, you're frying the cauliflower, not your own digits. 

2) How had I been so ignorant? Franks RedHot is THE OG hot sauce used to make Buffalo wings. It's the right balance of heat and vinegar with an unmistakable vibrant orange-red hue. Seeing one recipe after another cite Frank's RedHot as an indispensable ingredient, I immediately rectified my errors and secured a large bottle to last me a solid 10 batches of cauli wings.

As for the recipe, I loved I Can You Can Vegan's Spicy Chicken Fried Cauliflower recipe. I might have tweaked some of the spice ratios, but the dredge mix and buttermilk worked perfectly. Her instructions for the air-fryer are also spot on: spray with oil then air fry at 400F for 10min, flipping halfway through. 

How should it be served? With more Frank's RedHot of course. 

A fun way to use leftovers (assuming you have any) is to make a Buffalo cauli sandwich. Toast some burger buns/sandwich bread while reheating the cauli (Air fryer: 400F for 10-15 min, flipping halfway through). Combine and eat with whatever other condiments you fancy.