Spicy Stir-Fried Eggplant, Tofu and Water Spinach (Ong Choy)
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1long Asian eggplant, about ¾ pound
- 112-ounce bunch water spinach (ong choy) (substitute regular spinach if water spinach is unavailable; stem and wash leaves, and chop coarsely)
- 114-ounce box firm tofu, drained and cut in ¾ inch x 2-inch dominoes
- 2tablespoons soy sauce (more if desired)
- 1tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
- ¼cup vegetable stock or water
- ¼teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼teaspoon sugar
- 2tablespoons peanut, canola, rice bran or grape seed oil
- 1tablespoon minced garlic
- 1tablespoon minced ginger
- 2jalapeño or serrano peppers, minced
- 1sweet red onion, sliced
- 2 to 4tablespoons chopped cilantro
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
486 calories; 21 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 42 grams sugars; 26 grams protein; 611 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and score down to but not through the skin. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil, lightly oil the foil and place the eggplant on it cut side down. Roast for 15 minutes, until the skin begins to shrivel. Remove from the oven, transfer to a colander and let the eggplant drain, cut-side down, while you prepare the other ingredients. Then cut the eggplant in half down the middle and into ¾–inch pieces.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, drain and dry the tofu slices on paper towels and prepare the water spinach. Cut or break away the bottom 2 inches of the stalks. Break off the thicker, bottom part of the stems and wash thoroughly in 2 changes of water. Cut into 2-inch pieces. Spin in a salad spinner, then place on several thicknesses of paper towels to dry. Wash the leafy top part of the greens in 2 changes of water, spin dry twice, and chop coarsely. Place separately on paper towels to drain.
- Step 3
In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, and stock or water. Add the salt and sugar and stir until dissolved. Combine the garlic, ginger and chiles in another bowl. Have all the ingredients within arm’s length of your pan.
- Step 4
Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch steel skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil by pouring it down the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add the tofu and stir-fry until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- Step 5
Swirl in the remaining oil, add the garlic, ginger and chiles and stir-fry for no more than 10 seconds. Add the red onion and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the eggplant and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until all of it is tender. Add the water spinach stems and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the spinach leaves, stir-fry for about 30 seconds and add the soy sauce mixture. Stir-fry for 1 minute, until the spinach has wilted, return the tofu to the wok along with cilantro. Stir together for a few seconds to amalgamate and remove from the heat. Serve with rice or noodles.
- Advanced preparation: Stir-fries are last minute dishes as far as cooking goes but you can prepare all of your ingredients hours in advance. The eggplant can be roasted a day ahead. Keep in the refrigerator until 15 to 30 minutes before you cook.
Private Notes
Comments
Lots of work to get everything ready, but then it happens fast, and it’s quite good. Three quarters of an inch is too thick for the tofu. It should actually be just the size of dominoes.
After wrapping it in paper towels and pressing it with a weight, I also cut the tòfu smaller and thinner, and roasted it in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes, flipping once, after brushing it with a bit of the soy mixture. My goal was to reduce the water content further and concentrate the flavor. Similarly I roasted the mushrooms at 350 until almost done. As a result you use less oil in the stir-fry and taste the ingredients more cleanly.
Fantastic! Somewhat labor intensive but worth it. Came out great even though I had to make several significant changes due to pantry deficits, i.e. rice wine vinegar for rice wine (upped the sugar a bit), siracha sauce for fresh chilies, spinach for ong choy, Italian for Asian eggplant, and sweet yellow for sweet red onion, and omitted the cilantro. At least I had tofu!
It's roasting the eggplant and crisping the tofu before adding both to the stir fry that makes this a winner.
Had to use an Italian eggplant. Is the skin tougher? I found it inedible after roasting. Peeled it off, which caused the eggplant to look a little messy after frying. Good flavor, though. I doubled the sauce.
Can I use a non-stick skillet?
Delicious! Star of the show is eggplant - double it! We made this with shiitake mushrooms and zucchini. I would keep the shiitakes but leave out the zucchini’s next time. I would also add more rice wine and soy sauce to the sauce for stringer flavor to make a really yummy recipe even yummier.
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