Sesame Cauliflower Buns

Sesame Cauliflower Buns with Crisy Brussel Sprouts and Sriracha Mayo

40-50 Minutes 680 Calories Per Serving

So my husband and I have decided to try and eat a few more vegetarian meals here and there.  I watched a few documentaries that got me thinking maybe meat didn't always have to be the main focus of dinner.

Cue to Plated's Sesame Cauliflower Buns with Crispy Brussel Sprouts and Siracha Mayo.  

OMG

Let me just tell you...these were DELICIOUS!  If you could see my face right now, you would understand how excited I am to share these with you.  I didn't expect too much, because I never know how a vegetarian meal is going to fare.  But this one has become an all time favorite!

Have you ever had a sticky bun before, or also referred to here as bao buns? They are like fluffy, white clouds that melt in your mouth.  They are warm, and soft, and usually hold some sort of delicious saucy meat or veggie.  In this case they were filled with baked cauliflower tossed in a soy based sauce which was then drizzled with a sriracha mayo and sesame seeds.  The cauliflower didn't become soggy once it was baked, and held together well in the buns.

The side of crispy brussel sprouts was a perfect accompaniment to the star of this dish.  

So as always, here are some tips I have for this recipe:

~My first words of advice are to pay attention to the ingredients!  This recipe calls for Rice Wine Vinegar and Shaoxing Rice Wine.  If you are making this from scratch you won't run into this problem.  But since ingredients are packed for you with Plated, it can be easier to mix these up...and I did.  However I am glad to say that the recipe still came out great despite the error on my part.

~The brussel sprouts call for you to remove the garlic once you pull them from the heat.  I ended up leaving the garlic pieces in.  For one, garlic tastes great crunchy and toasted.  Secondly, once the brussel sprouts were cooked, the garlic blended in which made it difficult to find.

~Even though it said to warm the buns for only 10 minutes, once the time was up I turned the oven off and kept them in.  This keeps the bao buns warm until you are ready to serve dinner.

If you are looking for a lighter meal one night, and are in the mood for vegetarian international fare, look no further than this Plated meal.  Your taste buds will be thanking you, and so will your tummy.  Double veg is always a plus in the health column.

<3 P.S.

We were given 10 bao buns, but the amount of cauliflower only filled 7.  This wasn't a huge deal because I always eat less than my husband, so I had 3 and he had 4.  He used the extra bao buns and stuffed them with some brussel sprouts with siracha mayo, which he said was tasty as well.