Szechuan Tofu & Eggplant

There are many vegetarian friendly dishes in Trinidad & Tobago, which is largely due to the pervasive Hindu (Indian) influence in our cuisine. In fact, the names we use for several vegetables are of Indian origin. Take eggplant for example, to us it's baigan or baingan (we also say melongene...British imprint). In the same token, we grow up eating the lustrous purple veggie in Indian ways, vis á vis in curries or in  chokas for instance. Interestingly, even though Trinidad & Tobago has a a deeply rooted Chinese population, my childhood exposure to Chinese  (or Chinese influenced) cuisine was not nearly as extensive compared to Indian ones. Recently, I've been inspired to play around more with non-Indian Asian dishes. So far, one such 'experiment' has been in preparing baigan aka eggplant. I first made this Szechuan eggplant earlier this year with shrimp. My mum tasted it and liked it so much that she decided to make some herself. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to taste her version. I have though, rehashed the recipe with tofu. It's an easy, flavourful and healthy vegetarian meal and is now one of my favourites for dinner on a brisk night.

Ingredients 
* Indian Baby Eggplants  (8)
* Extra firm tofu (2 packs)
*Green onions (6 stalks)
* Celery (4 stalks)
* Thai Chili peppers (6)
* Garlic (5 cloves)
*Ginger (1 medium piece )
*Soy Sauce (4 tbsp)
*Rice Vinegar (1 tbsp)
* Fish oil or oyster sauce (1 tbsp)
* Dried Red pepper seeds (1 tbsp)
* Sesame oil (1 tbsp)
* Coconut oil (1 tbsp)
*Vegetable broth (2 cups)
* Himalayan Sea Salt (1 tbsp)
*Paprika (1 tbsp)
*Sesame seeds for garnish (1 tsp)



Directions
*Cut tops & bottoms off eggplant and cut each lengthwise into 3 to 4  pcs. Set aside.
*Cut tofu into chunky cubes and place in a colander to drain water. 
*Place tofu on pieces of paper towel to absorb remaining liquid.
* Once the tofu is mostly dry, rub dry seasoning of salt, paprika & black pepper all over pcs.
* Set tofu aside. 
*Dice celery and green onion.
*Mince garlic and ginger. 
*Heat a wok or large skillet over medium flame with coconut oil.
*Tilt the pan so that it is evenly coated with oil.
*Add tofu, leaving enough space among the pieces in order to turn them easily.
*Turn all the pieces so that their sides are golden brown. 
*Once all the pieces are golden brown, place to the side on grease paper. 
*Heat the wok or large skillet over medium flame with sesame oil.
*Add eggplant, leaving enough space among the pieces in order to stir properly.
* Season eggplant with salt, pepper and paprika.
*Remove the first batch of eggplant and set aside
*Add another batch of eggplant and repeat previous steps.
*Once all  the eggplant has been set aside, add green onions, ginger, garlic and chili peppers.
*Stir-fry these ingredients for one minute.
*Add vegetable broth.
*In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, fish oil/oyster sauce & vinegar.
*Pour the mixture into the wok and stir for 1 minute and allow to thicken.
*Add eggplant and tofu into the pan tossing frequently for 1 minute.
*Add 1 cup of vegetable broth.
*Cover and cook on low heat for 4 minutes or until tender (not mushy!)
*Remove lid and let cook  until the eggplant and tofu have absorbed much of the liquid.
*Garnish with sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, chili peppers and green onions.

Enjoy!!