Crispy fried succulent eggplant tofu with spicy black bean sauce. Garnished with fresh cilantro and chilli, and served with steamed rice.
There is a restaurant in LA, that we frequently go to, called Veggie Paradise. Every time we go there, we order their eggplant, tofu and basil dish which is so good! I’ve tasted it so many times that I’ve decided to come up with my version of it – tofu eggplant with basil and black bean sauce.
In this recipe, the eggplants are dusted with corn starch, then fried to give them the crispy texture on the outside while being soft and juicy inside. Plus they hold their shape well instead of being soft and soggy.
I like to use Asian eggplants which are thinner and longer because they have less seeds and are less bitter compared to the bigger and rounder variety. This dish is our family favorite!
See here for the wonderful health benefits of eating eggplants from well-beingsecrets.com.
Enjoy!
| Eggplant Tofu with Spicy Black Bean Sauce |
Ingredients
For the Bowl:
- Vegetable oil (for deep frying)
- 8 oz eggplant (cut as per picture)
- 2 tablespoons corn starch (for coating eggplant)
- 2 thin slices of ginger
- 1 tablespoon black beans or 1 teaspoon of black bean sauce.
- 8 oz fried tofu (cut as per picture)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup of Thai basil leaves
- 2 pieces of fresh red chillies (sliced)
- Cilantro (coriander)
For the Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (ABC medium sweet soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon of chilli paste (Vegetarian Sambal Oelek)
- ½ teaspoon corn starch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- Pepper to taste
- ¾ cup cold water
- Sesame oil
Methods
- Heat oil in wok at medium heat.
- Add corn starch and eggplant into a bowl. Toss to lightly coat the eggplants.
- Deep fry the coated eggplants until golden brown.
- Remove and place on paper towel.
- Heat wok at medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Add ginger, black beans, tofu and lightly stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Add and mix all sauce ingredients into a bowl, pour into wok and bring everything to boil.
- Add the fried eggplants and Thai basil leaves, give it a quick toss and pour onto serving plate.
- Garnish with fresh chilli and cilantro (coriander).
You can either use black beans or a teaspoon of blackbean sauce that you can easily find at any Asian grocery store in the sauce section.
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Thank-you, Hurian. Hope you’ll like it 🙂
Came to your blog from Rasa Malaysia. Please keep posting vegan chinese recipe. I enjoyed it a lot. Thank u for helping me become a better cook for my family.
Hi Imelda,
You are very welcome! Thank you for trying my recipe and for the encouraging feedback! I will definitely post more vegan Chinese recipes!
Korie
Looks great but we don’t have an Asian market within 50 miles Can never make this
Hi Liz,
Thank you for your interest in the recipe.
You can get the black beans or black bean sauce from amazon.com or walmart.com.
You can also find the sweet soy sauce from amazon.com.
Hope that helps.
Korie