This post is dedicated to my friend Linz.
She’s currently on exchange in Singapore, but before she left we were both living in Toronto, and a lot of nights ended with us on Spadina Avenue for late-night eggplant from one of the hundreds of Chinese restaurants. This happened so often that it kind of became “a thing”, and now I never feel complete when I eat eggplant by myself.
Lately I’ve been craving the amazing, buttery eggplant you can get in most Chinese restaurants, so when I was at the grocery store I added an eggplant to my cart.
A quick google of some common sauce ingredients, and I was off!
Chinese Eggplant and Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 package cubed tofu (any firmness)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- sriracha hot sauce (to taste)
Directions
- Chop eggplant into large cubes, and microwave for 5 minutes, until softened slightly.
- As eggplant is cooking in microwave, make sauce. Whisk together soy sauce and corn starch until fully dissolved, and then add water, sesame oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, and sriracha. Mix well.
- Put a wok or large pan on stove over medium heat, and sauté the garlic in vegetable oil.
- Add in the sauce, and then the eggplant and tofu. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Notes
- Don’t microwave the eggplant for too long! It will make it tough and chewy, instead of soft and creamy
- If you use silken tofu, you might want to add it in right at the end if you want it to remain in large chunks, otherwise use a firmer tofu.
Chop the eggplant into cubes.
Microwave for about 5 minutes, until slightly softened.
Assemble the sauce ingredients (sriracha not pictured!), and mix together in a separate bowl.
Saute the garlic in vegetable oil.
And add the sauce to the pan.
Add in the eggplant and tofu, and mix into the sauce.
Bring to a boil…
And then let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the eggplant has gotten very tender.
Then enjoy for lunch,
or dinner,
or even a late-night snack 
