Thai Basil Eggplant

When we traveled to visit Dave's family in New Hampshire last month his parents sent us home with an assortment of dried basils from their garden. This recipe uses Thai Basil:

I'm working on finding recipes for the others so stay tuned!

Recipe from Vegetarian Gastronomy. 

Ingredients: 

-1 large Italian eggplant 

-1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

-1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

-1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

-Handful of mushrooms, sliced

-1 14-oz. block firm tofu

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-Thai basil leaves

-vegetable oil

Sauce

-4 1/2 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce 

-1/2 cup soy sauce 

-1/4 cup water

-1-2 teaspoon chili sauce 

-2 teaspoon corn starch

In a large pot heat the oil and start by cooking your eggplant. When the eggplant is mostly cooked add the peppers. Add the mushrooms last. Once the vegetables are cooked stir in the garlic and thai basil (I used 3-4 pinches of thai basil).

In a large skillet pan fry the tofu until it is crispy on all sides. Mix the sauce in a large bowl. Once mixed, stir into the vegetables and allow to cook for a few minutes to help thicken the sauce.

Overall Dave and I were a little disappointed in this recipe. Out of all of the Asian-style recipes that I've made for the blog this wasn't my favorite. The sauce had too much hoisin in it and that overwhelmed all of the other flavors in the dish. We still have a ton of thai basil left so I will be looking for another recipe.