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Thing Fifty-Six: Dancing Eggplant (ish)
Sep. 11th, 2014 12:38 pmWhen I was in Vegas, my colleagues and I went to a restaurant in our hotel (the Cosmopolitan) that served Mexican and Chinese food. It sounded like an odd combination, but the items on the menu looked good, so hey, who was I to complain? I ended up ordering Chinese food: Har Gow dumplings, and a dish called Dancing Eggplant. The menu said that the eggplant was prepared with soy sauce, black garlic and bonito flakes. I loved the umami-rich combination, and being me, thought, "Hmm, I have all those ingredients at home! I should make that sometime!"
Naturally, I knew that I wouldn't be able to replicate the dish exactly. At that point, I was on my fourth cocktail of the night, after all. (Don't judge. Vegas, remember?) I didn't have the ability to really get the nuances of the dish and remember them. That said, I remembered the important stuff. Eggplant. Soy sauce. Black garlic. Bonito flakes. I remembered that it had a thick, glossy, dark-brown sauce, and that the eggplant was soft and creamy.
Last night, I decided to attempt a riff on this dish at home. I wanted it to be a slightly more balanced meal, so I decided to add some tempeh for extra protein and fiber. I had to think of what I wanted to use as the base for my sauce, too. Chicken broth seemed wrong, and I figured it might be too salty with the soy sauce added. Water would add nothing but moisture and volume: no flavor. Then, I hit on a great solution. I decided to soak dried shiitake mushrooms in boiling water until they were soft, and to then strain the soaking liquid and use that as the base to my sauce. I blended the liquid with the bonito flakes, black garlic, and soy sauce, then put it in the freezer to cool off a bit. When it was reasonably cool, I added some cornstarch to thicken it.
I stir-fried the cubed eggplant in oil until it started to soften, then added the sliced rehydrated mushrooms, and cooked for a while longer. Then came the tempeh. When the eggplant was nearly done, I poured in the sauce. It bubbled and boiled nicely for a few minutes, thickening as it did. I also decided to add some garlic powder and ground ginger, since my black garlic stash had been pretty low. When the sauce reached a nice, thick consistancy, I turned off the heat, and served it over brown rice. I had some leftovers for lunch today, but I have at least another serving and a half (dinner and lunch, maybe) still in the fridge. Yum!
Naturally, I knew that I wouldn't be able to replicate the dish exactly. At that point, I was on my fourth cocktail of the night, after all. (Don't judge. Vegas, remember?) I didn't have the ability to really get the nuances of the dish and remember them. That said, I remembered the important stuff. Eggplant. Soy sauce. Black garlic. Bonito flakes. I remembered that it had a thick, glossy, dark-brown sauce, and that the eggplant was soft and creamy.
Last night, I decided to attempt a riff on this dish at home. I wanted it to be a slightly more balanced meal, so I decided to add some tempeh for extra protein and fiber. I had to think of what I wanted to use as the base for my sauce, too. Chicken broth seemed wrong, and I figured it might be too salty with the soy sauce added. Water would add nothing but moisture and volume: no flavor. Then, I hit on a great solution. I decided to soak dried shiitake mushrooms in boiling water until they were soft, and to then strain the soaking liquid and use that as the base to my sauce. I blended the liquid with the bonito flakes, black garlic, and soy sauce, then put it in the freezer to cool off a bit. When it was reasonably cool, I added some cornstarch to thicken it.
I stir-fried the cubed eggplant in oil until it started to soften, then added the sliced rehydrated mushrooms, and cooked for a while longer. Then came the tempeh. When the eggplant was nearly done, I poured in the sauce. It bubbled and boiled nicely for a few minutes, thickening as it did. I also decided to add some garlic powder and ground ginger, since my black garlic stash had been pretty low. When the sauce reached a nice, thick consistancy, I turned off the heat, and served it over brown rice. I had some leftovers for lunch today, but I have at least another serving and a half (dinner and lunch, maybe) still in the fridge. Yum!
