Basil Eggplant (Vegan)

Basil Eggplant (Vegan), a fantastic vegan-friendly eggplant stir fry that is delicious and simple to make.

Basil Eggplant (Vegan) for my niece who flew in from Boston to join us in Houston for the holidays. She had recently become a vegan and all of us have been having fun exploring vegan recipes with her over the weekend. We made vegan brownies, cookies, spinach scramble and one of my favorite, which I made today, is Basil Eggplant.
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After a whole weekend of being spoilt and fed extremely well at our friends' Christmas lunch and dinner, a vegan dish on Boxing Day was very much welcomed by all of us. The sauce is so tasty and flavorlful; it may be replicated with other meats and vegetables, if desired.

Basil Eggplant (Vegan)
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from "Vegetarian Gastronomy"

Recipe
Ingredients
1 Large Eggplant (cut into 2 inch rectangular slabs)
1 Red Bell Pepper (thinly sliced)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper (thinly sliced)
1 Orange Bell Pepper (thinly sliced)
1/2 White Onion (thinly sliced)
1 14 oz Block Firm Tofu (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 cup Basil Leaves (roughly chopped)
4 tbsp Olive Oil (divided)
4 1/2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Water
2 tsp Shiracha Chilli Sauce
2 tsp Cornstarch

Cooking Method
1. Prepare sauce by combining hoisin sauce, soy sauce, water, chilli sauce and cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.
​2. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in wok on med heat and stir fry eggplant till it is soft, about 10 to 15 min. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in wok on med heat again and stir fry onions and garlic till soft and fragrant.
4. Add bell pepper and continue frying for a few minutes.
5. Return eggplant into wok and add tofu pieces, stir fry for a few minutes.
6. Add sauce mixture into wok and mix well. Allow sauce to boil and thicken. 
7. Remove from heat and stir in basil leaves.
8. Serve hot with white rice, if desired.