Roasted Cauliflower With Nước Chấm Sauce 

By Zainab Shah

Published Jan. 2, 2025

Roasted Cauliflower With Nước Chấm Sauce 
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Judy Kim.
Total Time
40 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(420)
Comments
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Hearty slabs of cauliflower are deeply caramelized in the oven on high heat then dressed with a riff on the traditional Vietnamese nước chấm sauce — an umami-rich mix of fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic and chiles. Fish sauce and garlic add pungency, vinegar brings a touch of sourness (in place of more traditional citrus), sugar rounds out these strong flavors with some sweetness, and chiles bring the heat. Mild, subtly sweet cauliflower benefits a great deal from getting burnished in the oven, and again from the sauce, while crushed roasted nuts add texture and bring out the vegetable’s nuttiness. Serve this dish as a starter or side, or supplement with rice to make it a main.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2heads cauliflower, stems removed, sliced vertically about ½-inch thick
  • 4tablespoons neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola or peanut) 
  • ¼cup rice vinegar
  • ⅓cup fish sauce
  • 1teaspoon sugar 
  • 3garlic cloves (optional), finely chopped
  • ¼small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 4 to 6Thai green chiles, thinly sliced (with or without seeds)
  • 2tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 2tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts or other nuts
  • Cooked white rice (optional), for serving  
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

189 calories; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 1973 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 500 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Lay the cauliflower steaks on a large sheet pan, making sure they aren’t touching. (Use multiple sheet pans if necessary.) Drizzle cauliflower with oil on both sides. Bake 13 to 15 minutes per side or until the cauliflower starts to turn a deep golden brown.

  3. Step 3

    While the cauliflower roasts, make the nước chấm sauce: In a medium bowl, mix the vinegar, fish sauce, sugar and garlic, if using.

  4. Step 4

    Remove the cauliflower from the oven and top with onion, chiles, cilantro and peanuts. Pour the sauce over all the ingredients and serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
420 user ratings
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Comments

Amy

Any suggestions for what to replace the fish sauce with for vegetarians?

Que Sera

I’d choose hatch or poblano’s instead of jalapeño as they can be quite spicy. You will get the nice green fresh look & taste…no need to peel/ blister skin.

Fatima P.

Made this. Loved it. BUT too salty from the fish sauce. I’ll make it again but slowly add it and see if I can balance it better next time.

Debra

I only had Chinese cauliflower. After having roasted the cauliflower I chopped it up before adding the rest. The chunkiness added texture and great depth to my eating experience. Delicious!! But I had so much sauce left over. Next time I’d halve the ingredients for that part. Def a keeper!

Amber

This is such an awesome amount of flavor for a really easy recipe! I agree that the fish sauce is a bit salty for my taste -- I added the juice of 1 lime and that balanced it a bit more for me.

Stijn

It depends also on the quality of the fish sauce. Cheap fish sauce has a lot of salt compared to very little anchovies.

deb

I've made this many times and love it! At the very top or just below? I'm not always sure where the rack should be for roasting. At the very top or one rack below? the cauliflower never really browns as described. It's more charred than anything. Can you advise?

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