Veggie Delight

Hello readers....well at least those of you that have still been following this long dormant blog! I've lost count of how many disappearances and comebacks I've had on this blog, so let's not go there. But here I am with a new blog look, new ideas (see the About page for more) and a brand new recipe! This one will hopefully delight my vegetarian readers. This one also makes eggplant (brinjal / aubergine....what's in a name) taste awesome for all those of you who don't like it.....so try it and tell me what you think!

Sweet and Sour Eggplant

1 medium eggplant, diced
1/2 large-ish red onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1.5 teaspoons red chili pepper paste / hot sauce (or more if you like it)
2 tablespoons honey
1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups water / vegetable stock
1 tablespoon white vinegar
salt, to taste

Heat oil in a saute pan or any other wide pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions soften (and turn pink....you don't need to brown them). Throw in the eggplant, cover the pan and cook until the eggplant softens. If the eggplant starts sticking to the pan, add a splash of water. When the eggplant softens, add the bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes.

For the sauce, combine the tomato paste, soy sauce, chili paste, honey, salt and water in a bowl. Add the sauce mix to the vegetables and let it come to a boil. In the meanwhile, make a slurry with the cornstarch and a tablespoon of water, and add it to the boiling sauce. Mix well and cook until the sauce thickens. Finally, add the vinegar. Serve with steamed rice and most importantly, enjoy!

Notes:

1. While I prefer homemade chili paste (soaked dried red chili peppers ground in a food processor / grinder with some water), feel free to use Sriracha or any other hot sauce.

2. Some people prep the diced eggplant by adding salt, letting it sit, draining the liquid and then rinsing and drying the eggplant. I am too lazy to do it, but feel free to go ahead if that's how you like it.

3. Substitute honey with sugar if you want to....just might need more mixing to dissolve the sugar. Substitution is probably not one to one, so check it out.

4. Add more slurry with the sauce is too watery even after you let the sauce cook with the slurry in it.