Electric Lunchbox #77: Spicy Eggplant

I do learn a thing or two every once in a while when I develop/experiment on recipes. And I am all for sharing it so that you can learn something too!

For this particular recipe, I found the sauce too watery after cooking it with 2 ELB cups of water. AND I learned that if I want it to be thicker, I can add more cornstarch to the cooked dish, stir in until it dissolves, add another ELB cup of water to the base, and let it steam away. I usually dissolve cornstarch in a little water and add that to the dish but for this, I just stirred it in. The eggplant needed to be cooked a little more too so it came out perfect after another 20 minutes of steaming.

So…if you want your ELB sauces thicker, you can always add a teaspoon or so of cornstarch and steam it a bit more.

This is a dish can be as spicy or as mild as you want it to be. Feel free to add more chili paste if you like spicy food.

I would prepare rice (2 ELB cups rice, rinsed and drained, and 2 ELB cups water) in the small top bowl to have a delicious Chinese style lunch or dinner in a pinch!

*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*

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Ingredients:

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon vinegar

1/2 teaspoon chili paste (mild – add more to make it more spicy)

1/2 teaspoon black bean garlic sauce, or hoisin sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 – 2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup cubed eggplant

3 ELB cups water, for the base

Chopped green onions, for serving

Procedure:

1. In the big bowl of the ELB, mix together brown sugar, garlic powder, soy sauce, water, vinegar, chili paste, black bean paste or hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Mix well.