Chinese Eggplant and Quinoa

Every once in a while our Chinese grocery store has Chinese eggplant on super sale, and by that I mean $0.33/lb. I always get a bunch because at that price, it seems pretty safe to experiment. I mean if something goes wrong what did I loose, 25 cents? Here's our latest experiment which turned out pretty tasty. We served it on top of quinoa, but you could use rice instead (we used quinoa because we're trying to vary our grains a little). Hope you enjoy it too!

Chinese Eggplant with Quinoa. (The white thing in back is a steamed pork bun).

Ok let's get started, for this dish there are three main ingredients: mushrooms, red bell pepper, and Chinese eggplant. We'll start off by sauteing the mushrooms in a pan with a bit of hot oil and chili sauce.

poke poke poke.

When the mushrooms have cooked down a little add your chopped eggplant and red peppers. Stir everything around a little.

 In a small bowl mix the soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch until smooth. Poor your soy sauce mixture over the vegetables and cover your pan with a lid and let everything steam in there for a bit (5 min, but check midway to make sure nothing is sticking, add some water or broth if it looks too dry).  

Now uncover and let everything cook until the eggplant softens and begins to brown. Dish out and serve on top of quinoa or rice. Top with green onions and you're ready to eat!

yum! :)

This is a pretty adaptable recipe, so you can add tofu, onions, garlic, egg... or anything else you think would go well with eggplant. 

Ingredients:

1 - large chinese eggplant cut into bite-sized pieces

1 - red bell pepper diced

6 - mushrooms sliced

1 - green onion sliced

1 - tsp chili sauce

2-3 Tbsp - soy sauce

1 Tbsp - vinegar (I used apple cider but rice vinegar would probably work too)

1 tsp - corn starch

Directions

1. Saute mushrooms with chili sauce

2. Add eggplant and peppers

3. mix soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch

4. poor soy sauce mixture in and cover with lid

5. cook for 5 min checking to make sure nothing is sticking, add water or broth if it looks to dry

6. uncover and cook until soft and starting to brown

7. serve!

Have fun!

Elizabeth