Vegan stew: lilac aubergine in Szechuan sauce

Vega(n) foodies and vegetable lovers beware. Have you discovered the lilac aubergine yet? The long thin brother of the regular aubergine with a soft sweet skin. The skin can also be eaten plain! In a spicy Szechuan sauce, you won't know what you're tasting! So hop over to the toko. Or to the supermarket, because we are spotting this lilac aubergine in more and more supermarkets. Cool!

Lilac aubergine?

I have not known the lilac aubergine for very long and to my knowledge it is relatively new on the supermarket vegetable shelf. It almost has to be, because this thin lettuce does stand out with its unusual appearance. The lilac aubergine looks different from an ordinary aubergine, but it also tastes different. It has a sweet, soft skin that can also be eaten. Not tough! And this aubergine has fewer seeds, making it softer and less bitter in flavour. This makes the lilac aubergine an ideal candidate for a vegan stew!

This aubergine looks tropical. That is partly true: it is a favourite vegetable in Indian and Surinamese cuisine. I also discovered it at the toko. But by now, it has become quite common and I regularly spot it in supermarkets too. The lilac aubergine, also known as Chinese aubergine, originally comes from Asia, but is now grown in more places around the world. A Dutch supermarket often lists Spain as the country of origin on the packaging. An excellent sustainable choice, but you can also buy it in Spain. Growing in the Netherlands (Sowing in January and harvesting in June-August). I am curious: I will check this summer if I also spot a Dutch lilac aubergine somewhere. That would be fun!

Szechuan sauce?

From that (too) crazy lilac aubergine, I make a vegan stew in a Szechuan sauce. Sounds complicated? Not really! When we talk about Chinese cuisine, we usually mean Cantonese cuisine. But China is big! Located in the centre of the country, Szechuan (Sichuan) is a region with its own cuisine and flavour palette. This region is characterised by spicier food. Lilac aubergine in Szechuan sauce is a side dish that gives an insane explosion of flavour: you taste sweet, sour, salty and the fifth basic flavour: umami, which is Japanese for ‘deliciousness’. Szechuan sauce can be bought ready-made in a jar at the toko and contains ingredients like red chillies, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sometimes even some honey or sugar to add that sweet kick. For this dish, I make my own sauce with dried Szechuan chillies. Find more toko shopping tips here.

This vegan stew is easy to prepare, so a perfect snack to surprise your vegan friends with. Or delicious as a side dish. Bring it on!

Vegan stew of lilac aubergine. If you can't find this aubergine, you can also use a regular aubergine for this dish.

Don't sulk, deliciously wok that lilac aubergine

This delicious Chinese side dish is a wok dish. You can make it easier on yourself and prepare it earlier, so you can wok the dish on the spur of the moment in 15 minutes. For all my Asian wok dishes, I use the Macao wok from the WMF brand. If you are still looking for good eco-friendly pans, this is a tip. Saskia wrote an article about our pan search. The short version: we had pans with PFAS (not a pleasant observation). We wanted to get rid of those. And so we went in search of a new set.

Vegan stew: lilac aubergine in Szechuan sauce

Lilac aubergine in Szechuan sauce is one of my favourite (vegan) Chinese dishes. Now if you can't find lilac aubergines, you can also substitute it with 'regular' aubergines from the supermarket. In that case, cut the seeds from the core and peel the aubergines with a peeler. If you get your hands on a lilac aubergine, leave the skin untouched. This is how I prepare this vegan stew!

5 from 2 vote

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Preparation 30 minutes mins

Preparation 15 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course side dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4 persons

Kitchenware

• cutting board
• good chopper
• container (for mixing sauce)
• steam basket or steamer or colander (to be used in combination with wok)
• blender or hand blender
• wok

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 lilac aubergines (Can also be replaced with 3 'normal' aubergines.)
• 60 gr shiitake mushrooms
• 4 pointed peppers
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 'thumb' of ginger
• 2 ~ 6 dried chillies (Always add chilli peppers to taste. I choose 6 Szechuan dried chillies).
• 3 spring onions

Szechuan sauce

• 2 el light soy sauce
• 1 el dark soy sauce
• 2 el (vegan) oyster sauce (Vegan oyster sauce is shiitake mushroom-based and often sold as 'mushroom stir fry sauce' or something similar).
• 2 el vinegar Chinese rice vinegar, or white natural vinegar
• 3 el sugar cane, brown or white sugar
• 0,5 el Chinese bean sauce On sale as 'Taotje', 'yellow bean sauce' or 'Bean sauce'
• 2 fluorescent cornstarch
• 2 fluorescent sesame oil
• 4 el water

Instructions

 

Steam the lilac aubergine

• Cut the green top off the lilac aubergines.
• Cut the lilac aubergines into 5 or 6 equal parts.
• Cut the wedges in half along the length and width so that you end up with quarters.
• Drain the lilac aubergines in a colander and set aside.
• Place the wedges in a steamer basket, in a steamer oven or hang a colander in a wok with a lid on top and steam the lilac aubergines for 10 ~ 20 minutes until tender.*

Cut the vegetables

• While the lilac aubergines are cooking, you can already cut the remaining vegetables.
• Dice the mushrooms and set aside in a bowl.
• Cut the pointed peppers into small pieces and add to the mushrooms.
• Wash the ginger and put it unpeeled with the garlic and dried pepper in a blender/stick blender.
• Puree into a paste.

Prepare the sauce

• Mix all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and keep stirring until the sugar and cornstarch are nicely dissolved.

Wokken

• Heat oil in a wok to a high temperature.
• Add the garlic, ginger and pepper paste and keep stirring until you smell the aromatics (max 45 seconds).
• Add the mushrooms and a little pointed pepper, stirring constantly (max 30 seconds).
• Add the rest of the pointed peppers, stirring constantly (max 60 seconds).
• Now add the sauce and wait for it to boil.
• Now add the lilac aubergines and stir-fry everything for up to 90 seconds more.
• Add the sesame oil and serve.

Notes

*The duration depends on method chosen. The aubergines are cooked as soon as you can squeeze them like a sponge. If the aubergines start to get mushy, they have been steamed for too long.

Keyword Chinese aubergine, szechuan, wok, vegan recipe, spicy food, lilac aubergine

Shopping at the toko

So I discovered these lilac aubergines in the Asian supermarket I love to visit. I am often told by people that they find a toko or Asian supermartk difficult to shop in because they can't find the right groceries. It's not necessarily organised logically, you find all the products you don't know and the Chinese on the labels doesn't help decipher what's on sale either. Especially for people who could use some help in the toko, I have some (vegetarian) shopping tips:

• Must-have herbs: these herbs belong in every kitchen (including shopping list).
• Vegetarian shopping tips from the toko (including shopping list).
  
  

I am very curious to know what you like to buy at the toko. If you have any great spice tips or shopping tips to add to the list, be sure to let us know! Enjoy Southeast Asian cuisine. There is so much deliciousness!

More food tips from thegreenlist.nl

• Yummy yummy yummy: vegan rendang with jackfruit according to traditional family law.
• Also see: noodles according to traditional family recipe.
• Easy and very tasty: this recipe for spicy tofu.
• Looking for a tasty dessert to go with it? Sticky rice mango is delicious AND vegan!
  
  

Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl.