Aubergines get a lot of use in this house. Infinitely flexible, it’s a vegetable that works in so many cuisines and dishes. For this dinner, I wanted something quick but still tasty and aubergine is still my go to. We’ve ended up with a tasty dish that quick to make, bursting with flavour and with delicious contrasting textures. Starting with aromatics like garlic, ginger and chilli, finishing with a slightly sweet sauce. It’s a perfect dinner for when you’re in a pinch and need something fast.
Enjoy!
- Makes: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For the Vegetables:
- 2 Aubergines, sliced into bitsize chunks
- 1 head of Broccoli, sliced into small florets
- 2 cups Chinese Cabbage, roughly chopped
- 1 large Onion, thinly sliced
- 1 Mild Red Chilli, diced
- 20g Ginger, cut into thin strips
- 3 Garlic Cloves, chopped into thin strips
- Oil for Cooking
- Salt & Pepper to taste
For the Crispy Tofu:
- 200g Tofu, pressed and cubed
- 1/2 cup Corn Starch
- 1 tsp Chilli Flakes
- 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Salt
For the Sauce:
- 50 ml Mirin
- 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce Substitute (see allergy note below)
- 1 Tbsp Sake
- 2 tsp Maple Syrup
Directions
Prep before starting to cook, making sure everything is chopped and ready to go. In addition to prepping your veg, mix together the sauce and toss the tofu in the cornstarch and spices. If you have time, toss in tofu in multiple coats.
Place a wok on a medium heat with a dash of oil. Fry off your tofu in batches, until it’s deep golden brown on all sides and crispy. Don’t crowd the pan as it’ll lower the heat too much and really, don’t touch your tofu until you really have to turn it – fiddling too much will lengthen the cooking time and can make it fall apart. Put your browned tofu to one side. Fry the aubergines chunks in batches, adding more oil as needed, until caramelised and beginning to soften. Remove from the pan and place to one side. Add more oil if needed before tossing the garlic, ginger, and chilli into the pan. stir fry until softened and just beginning to brown – be careful not to let the garlic burn. Remove from the pan and set to one side.
Again, add more oil if needed before turning the heat up to high. When the pan is hot add in the broccoli and stir fry. Cook until the florets turn bright green so they are cooked but still crisp. Add in the onion along with the aubergines and cook until the aubergines are fully cooked and the onions have started to brown. Finally throw in the sauce and garlic, ginger, and chillies. Stir fry quickly until the sauce has thicken slightly and everything is well mixed.
Serve immediately with some rice – enjoy!
Notes
This is one of our favourite dinner dishes. Packed full of veggies, and oh so quick to whip up it’s ideal for busy nights.
Allergy Notes; I’m going to keep saying this – Soy Sauce is NOT gluten free as the brewing process contains wheat. A good gluten free option is Tamari which normally contains little to no gluten, is slightly less salty, and thicker than soy sauce. As always, check your brand to make sure you’ve not accidentally picked up one of the few brands which uses gluten. We use coconut aminos in our house, while not quite as rich as soy sauce, it’s both gluten free and soy free but different brands vary tremendously – you may have to look around before finding one that suits you.
To make this gluten free, just use GF pasta per the note above. It Cashew nuts are a problem for you then there are plenty of tofu based ricotta recipes
