Chili Garlic Eggplant with Shredded Bamboo Shoots

I love eggplant but I always have such a hard time cooking it. I've only cooked with the Japanese eggplants, the long, thin kind, and the one time I attempted Eggplant Parmesan using regular eggplants, I had to throw away the dish because it was so awful. With the Japanese eggplants, I like to steam them for a couple of minutes so that they soften but still maintain their shape. If I don't do this, I find that the eggplant never gets soft enough for my taste. I added shredded chili bamboo shoots because I had some in my fridge and I thought the chili bamboo shoots would go nicely with the chili sauce for the eggplant.


The jar of chili bamboo shoots I used.


A close up of the bamboo shoots.


Chili Garlic Eggplant with Shredded Bamboo Shoots

Ingredients
1lb Japanese eggplants
1/2 cup chili bamboo shoots
1 tablespoon oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1" knob of ginger, cut into tiny matchsticks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 cup water

Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon hot bean sauce

Directions
1. Place a steaming rack inside a wok or deep pot and fill with water to 3" below top of steaming rack. Bring to boil.
2. Cut eggplants into 3" long wedges and place inside a heatproof plate.
3. When water in wok boils, place plate with eggplant onto steaming rack and cover. Steam until eggplant is tender (a chopstick can easily be pierced through the skin) but still maintain their shape. Remove from wok.
4. Heat oil in a pan. Add minced garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant.
5. Add eggplant and stir fry for a minute.
6. Mix sauce ingredients together and add to pan.
7. Stir eggplant unti fully coated with sauce.
8. Add bamboo shoots and 1 teaspoon of oil from jar and mix until incorporated throughout.
9. Stir together cornstarch and water until cornstarch is dissolved and pour into pan.
10. Mix eggplant quickly until cornstarch slurry is absorbed and mixture has thickened and taken on a glossy appearance.
11. Serve and enjoy!

Garlic Stems with Mock Duck

I was inspired by reading a blog a few weeks ago (and for the life of me, I can't seem to remember the name) where the person used mock, or vegetarian "duck". As I had never tried it before, and it looked so duck-like in the photo, I had a strong urge to try it and I looked for it at the grocery store and luckily I found some. I kept wanting to open the can to taste it but couldn't figure out what I should make with it. Earlier this week, I had some garlic stems and wanted something to add to it to make it heartier and I immediately thought of the mock duck. When I opened the can the "duck" had little raised dots on the "skin" just like real duck does and it smelt like soy sauce. The verdict? The texture is quite soft and the primary taste was of soy sauce. Not very duck-like but quite good nevertheless. It makes a good addition to a dish when you just need something a little more substantial. You could also use it to make noodle soup with mock duck and some bok choy.


Garlic Stems with Mock Duck

Ingredients
1lb garlic stems
1 can mock duck, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup water

Directions
1. Wash garlic stems and trim ends. Cut to desired length. (I usually like to leave mine at 3".)
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the minced garlic. When garlic is fragrant, add the garlic stems.
3. Stir fry for 2 minutes until the garlic stems look dry. Add water at this point and cover pan with lid for a few minutes.
4. Uncover and check to see if water has dried. If the garlic stems look tender yet still crisp, add the soy sauce and oyster sauce and stir to coat. If the garlic stems are still not tender, add a bit more water and cover for another 2 minutes.
5. When the garlic stems are coated in the soy and oyster sauce, add the shredded duck and stir fry until the duck is heated through.
6. Serve with rice and enjoy!