See the recipe below from Hetty Lui McKinnon. Have you seen her new book, “Tenderheart”? It is HUGE, with almost 200 recipes in chapter after chapter of ideas for the vegetables we get every week. So here are two recipes from the book – the gnocchi and tomatoes AND her vegan mapo tofu with eggplant. I literally keep the book at my desk and just leaf through it when I am looking for inspiration.
Ingredients:
2 eggplants, cut diagonally into rounds 1 tablespoon cornstarch Neutral-flavored oil, for frying 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in 375ml (1½ cups) boiling water (can substitute with fresh shiitake, oyster or Swiss brown mushrooms) 1 pound block extra-firm tofu, roughly crumbled 1 teaspoon five-spice powder Sea salt 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped 2 tablespoons doubanjiang or black bean sauce 4 green onions, chopped into 2-inch lengths 2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari 1 teaspoon granulated sugar Rice, to serve
Preparation:
Place the eggplant in a large bowl and toss with cornstarch.
Heat a large Dutch oven or deep frying pan over medium–high heat. When it’s hot, drizzle with oil and arrange as many eggplant rounds as you can fit in a single layer. Sear for 3–4 minutes, until lightly golden, then flip them over and fry the other side; they don’t have to be completely cooked at this stage – we just want them to be lightly golden. Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside.
Remove the shiitake mushrooms from the water, squeezing out any excess liquid. Keep the mushroom soaking water (if there is a lot of sediment in the water, run it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove). Finely slice the mushrooms.
To the same pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil, along with the tofu, mushroom, five-spice powder and about 1 teaspoon of sea salt.
Cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the tofu starts to brown. Add the garlic and ginger, stir and cook for 1 minute.
Add the doubanjiang (or black bean sauce), green onion and soy sauce (or tamari) and sauté for 2 minutes until aromatic. Add the eggplant and mushroom soaking water (or substitute with water), then reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, until the eggplant is completely softened. Add the sugar and stir, then taste and season with more sea salt, if needed. Serve with rice.