Aubergine&Coconut Tofu
This is a dish I’ve always wanted to prepare, as I think that tofu goes really well with aubergines. At the same time, I’ve always thought that coconut and aubergines is a deliciuos combination… and I wanted to experiment the three flavour together. I’ve also added some turmeric to make the dish more colorful – the turmeric doesn’t add that much flavour.
Here I used fresh coconut: I just blended a little soy milk with 1/3 of a coconut, but you can use coconut milk as well. I preferred to use the fresh coconut in the first instance because I had it fresh; but also because I like to taste the bits, which partially remain, giving a nice crunchy addition to the dish; aubergines and tofu are fairly soft, and I liked to add a crunchy component.
Ingredients:
1 large aubergine
300 gr of tofu
1/3 of coconut
a glass of soy milk
1 teaspoon of miso
1/2 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
soy sauce
thai chillie
1 teaspoon of minced ginger
1 teaspoon of turmeric
Method:
First of all, marinade the tofu. Cut it in cubes and put them in a marinade made of a little water, soy sauce, 1 chopped thai chilli, 1 teaspoon of miso and 1 teaspoon of minced ginger. Let it season for at least half an hour – the more you leave it there, the more tasty it will be, of course.
In a no stick pan, sauté the finely chopped garlic with a little oil. Add a teaspoon of miso and stir well. Cut the aubergines in cubes. If you have time and patience, you may lay them in a colander, sprinkle with salt and let them rest for, say, 30 minutes. Put them in the saucepan with the garlic and sauté on a medium heat, stirring occasionally. Now, add the tofu, stir carefully and after a couple of minutes add the coconut milk. If you want to do as I did, just blend in a food processor 1/3 of coconut with a glass of soy milk. Finally, add the turmeric and stir carefully. Serve it warm. It was truly delicious!