Sichuan Eggplant and Seitan

This is a super yummy recipe for a dish I love to eat at Chinese restaurants, but have never been brave enough to make myself before. It turned out to be really easy to make. If you don't have seitan, you could use tofu or tempeh, or just add more eggplant. I used cayenne pepper for the spice, but next time I will use Chinese chili paste.

6 asian eggplants, sliced diagonally
1/2 pound seitan, chopped
Black pepper, to taste
1 head garlic, roughly chopped
Oil for cooking
Sauce:
2 T. water
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. braggs
1 T. balsamic vinegar
2 t. brown sugar
1 T. cornstarch
Cayenne pepper to taste
Any leftover marinade from seitan package
Green onions, sliced diagonally
Sesame seeds

Stir-fry eggplant in a little oil until soft, set aside.
Fry seitan in a little oil until lightly browned, season with black pepper.
Add garlic, stir-fry about five minutes, don't let it brown.
Meanwhile, whisk sauce ingredients together.
Add sauce to seitan, stir until coated.
Add eggplant, combine thoroughly.
Cook for another five minutes.
Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, serve with rice.

Eggplant Parmigiano (Parmesan)

This is not too hard to make and really tastes great. Smells fabulous too while cooking.

First, slice a plump eggplant into 1/4 " round slices, salt both sides of each slice, and set in a platic colander to leech out the tanins for at least an hour. Then rinse in cold water. Pat dry.

Sautee onion and garlic and when well cooked, add in the sliced eggplant and sautee both sides until getting soft. Takes a few rounds to cook it all.

In a shallow baking dish - I use a 9" pyrex pie dish as I can only bake in the round - pour in a bit of red pasta sauce on the bottom. Layer in half of the sauteed eggplant with its onion and garlic. Sprinkle over this several tablespoons of cornmeal. Then shake on parmesan cheese (there must be a vegan equivilent?), then pour on more pasta sause - not too thick, ok even to thin sauce with a little water. Then repeat with eggplant / onions / garlic / cornmeal / parmesan / sauce on the top. For non vegans, a white cheese on top - or vegan similar type - mozzarella, or jack, in 2x3 squares makes a nice crispy top - be sure to finish it off with a sprinkling of final parmesan.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 375, less if the eggplant is very well sauteed previously.

Serve in pie shaped wedges if in a round dish. Square if in rectangular dish. Makes 3-4 servings. Really flavorful. Have also tried it with a homemade tomato sauce with success. Best with a nice crispy side of salad.