Szechwan Eggplant and Tofu

I had some eggplant leftover from my earlier experiment with vegetable casserole, and the tofu needed to be used before it went bad or something, so I dug up this recipe for 四川茄子豆腐. It was marvelous; I wound up using a motley assortment of eggplants, which gave it some lovely different textures. Beyond that, I made only a few modifications to the original recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 12 oz package firm tofu (Chinese)
  
• 1 T. soy sauce (dark) [for tofu marinade]
  
• 2 T. water [for tofu marinade]
  
• 1/2 T. garlic oil [for tofu marinade]
  
• about 4-5 c. chopped eggplants
  
• 1 c. water plus vegetable bouillon
• 2 T. chopped garlic
• ginger, about 1/2 tsp.
  
• 1 T. vegetarian stir-fry sauce (oyster sauce)
  
• 3 T. soy sauce
  
• 2 T. rice vinegar
• 1 T. black vinegar (黑醋, can be found at Asian grocery stores)
  
• 1 tsp garlic oil
• 1 tsp kecap manis (sweet Indonesian soy sauce, found at Asian grocery stores)
• 1 tsp Sri Racha sauce or similar hot sauce
  
• about 1/2 tin tomatoes, diced
  
• 3/4 c. brown rice
• 1 1/2 c. water

Methodology

I was a little confused by the original recipe, mostly because I was rushing and not reading closely. I will try to make this clear-ish.

0. Put the rice and 2x as much water (so 3/4 c. rice + 1.5 c. water, or 1 c. rice + 2 c. water, etc.) in a pan and turn it on. Cover. It will cook on its own, but keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil dry - if the pan is quite wide compared to the volume of rice, you may need to add more. Don't let it boil over, either, it makes a mess.

1. Mix the soy sauce, water, and oil labeled "for tofu marinade" in a flat-ish dish. Pat the tofu dry and slice it into about 6-7 slices 1/2" thick (little tofu steaks). Dip each steak into the marinade and flip over, then put into an oiled wok[note 1] over medium heat. Do not touch them again right away - wait a couple of minutes until they are browned, then flip and cook the other side. When done, take them out and cut into about 8-10 pieces per steak. Set aside.

2. Wash and chop the eggplants [note 2]. Put in the wok with a little oil. After about a minute, add in 1 cup of water and the bouillon, then cover and leave it to cook. When it's about half done, add the garlic and the ginger, then re-cover.

3. Meanwhile, mix the stir-fry sauce, the soy sauce, the kecap manis, the oil, the Sri Racha sauce, and the vinegars. I threw everything into the same container that the tomatoes happened to be in, on the basis that vinegar is good for tomatoes [note 3] and the law of diminishing returns in dishes.

4. When the eggplant is done, add the tomatoes, the sauce mixture, and the tofu. Stir and heat until everything is warm. Serve over rice. Yay.

Notes

1. You really don't need much oil for this. Maybe a tablespoon.

2. I used 1/2 a regular aubergine, 3 small Thai eggplants, and 1/2 of a Japanese eggplant (see photo.) It came out to be about 4-5 cups of purple and green goodness; I love the different textures between the varieties.

3. I had about 1/3 tin of diced tomatoes left from the casserole, which I supplemented with about 3 whole tinned tomatoes (Asian Midway didn't have diced tinned).

4. This had an awesome flavour and I had no problems at all during the cooking process. 0/7 on the disaster scale!

5. The 1 tsp of hot sauce wasn't quite spicy enough for me (I'm a fire eater after all my time in Asia) but if I were making it for guests who are not quite so keen on the spicy, it would be a good amount for them - flavourful, but not overwhelming.