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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
40 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
The 15th day of the 7th lunar month is approaching, which is also a suitable time to showcase your skills in making vegetarian dishes that are light and delicious. Let’s join TasteVN to the kitchen and learn how to cook delicious braised eggplant with tofu to add to your family menu!
Ingredients for Braised Eggplant with Vegetarian Tofu For 4 people
Eggplant 200 gr Fresh shiitake mushrooms 100 gr Tofu 100 gr Green onions 10 gr Vinegar 20 ml Turmeric powder 1 teaspoon Perilla leaves 15 gr Betel leaves 15 gr Vegetable oil 2 tablespoons Soy sauce 2 tablespoons Sugar 1 tablespoon Starch water 20 ml
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh fried tofu
- You should choose pieces of fried tofu that are golden brown, fresh, light to the touch, have a soft and smooth texture, with a moderate elasticity and the fragrant, rich smell characteristic of soybeans.
- Avoid choosing pieces that are too crumbly or too mushy and overly fragrant, as they may contain the scent of additives.
How to choose fresh and delicious eggplant
- You should choose eggplants that have shiny, smooth skin and are evenly colored, with no wrinkles or dark spots. When held in hand, they should feel firm and not soft.
- The stem should be fresh and green, tightly attached to the fruit, indicating that the eggplant is still young and will have a natural sweetness.
- Avoid choosing old eggplants that have a slightly hard stem and an outer skin that is light pink or pale purple.
How to choose fresh and delicious shiitake mushrooms
- You should choose shiitake mushrooms that have a shape like an umbrella, not bruised, of moderate size, with short stems and caps that are slightly yellow-brown.
- Avoid choosing mushrooms that are dark brown as they may be toxic.
How to prepare Braised Eggplant with Vegetarian Tofu
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Prepare ingredients and marinate eggplant
After purchasing, wash the wild betel leaves and perilla leaves, drain, and cut into strips.
For shiitake mushrooms, wash them thoroughly, soak in warm water for 2 – 3 minutes to remove dirt and sawdust, then rinse with cold water and cut off the stems.
Wash the eggplant, cut it into pieces. Mix 20ml of vinegar in a bowl of water and soak the eggplant for 15 – 20 minutes, then remove and let it drain. This step will help prevent the eggplant from browning.
Mix the eggplant with 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder and marinate for 10 minutes.
Tip: You can wash shiitake mushrooms with rice water to eliminate the pungent smell and preserve the natural sweetness of the mushrooms.
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Stir-fry eggplant with shiitake mushrooms
Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the pot. Place the pot on the stove over medium heat, when the oil is slightly hot, add chopped onion and sauté until fragrant.
Next, add the eggplant and shiitake mushrooms into the pot, use chopsticks to stir evenly until the eggplant and mushrooms are soft.
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Stewed eggplant with tofu
Add 300ml of water to a pot, continue to cook until the water boils, then add the tofu, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce (the amount can be adjusted according to taste).
Cover the pot and stew for 15 minutes. Next, add 20ml of cornstarch water and stir well, finally add perilla leaves and betel leaves and cook for another 3 – 5 minutes to complete.
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Final product
The vegetarian stewed eggplant with tofu will have an eye-catching color with the green of the leaves, the purple of the eggplant, and the brown-yellow of the fried tofu combined with the aroma of fried onion.
Not only that, when eating, you will feel the crispiness of the fried tofu, the softness of the eggplant and mushrooms, combined with the light sweet and salty flavor that makes this dish incredibly appetizing.
I hope the detailed sharing about the recipe for braised eggplant with vegetarian tofu that is fragrant and light can help you have another delicious dish to treat your family and loved ones. Wishing you success in your cooking!
