Eggplant and Rice Noodles-a New Kid Hit

I love fresh garden vegetables.  Especially when they are a gift.  My daddy has been bringing in an abundance of tomatoes (going to find a use for those soon) to the office everyday.  Just recently he brought in two beautiful eggplants.  I immediately thought of eggplant parmesan, or the Gluten Free Baked Eggplant Fries (recipe coming soon) I've made recently.  When I was scavenging the web for a Korean Dipping Sauce to go with the eggplant fries, I came across a few Chinese Stir Fry recipes featuring eggplant.  So I decided to put together a new recipe for my family. 

 

 



 



Hearty eggplants boasting with garlic, savory oyster sauce and touch of sweetness from sugar, this pairs well with tender rice noodles tossed in a nutty sesame oil.  This meal is filling and full of flavor.   It was a hit with everyone, including my finicky shark!  He said it tasted like mushrooms, and he loves mushrooms!  And it's GFCF, autism friendly.  

 

I set aside the other eggplant for some Baba Ganoush (recipe coming soon), an Indian eggplant dip, to spread on my veggie and goat cheese low carb wrap for this week.

 

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce with Rice Noodles

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce:
1 large eggplant, cubed
2 Tb peanut oil
dash salt
1 cup chicken broth (or plain water)
1 tsp cornstarch
2 Tb soy sauce
2 Tb oyster sauce
2 Tb sugar
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
chili paste, for garnish, if desired




















Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  Add eggplant with dash salt.  Cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes.  Combine remaining ingredients, except chili paste, in glass bowl and pour over eggplant. 

Reduce heat to medium.  Cook and stir until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Serve over rice noodles, about 1 cup per serving.




















Rice Noodles:
6-8 cups water
8 oz packaged flat rice noodles
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame seeds, black or white

Heat water in large pot to boiling.  Add rice noodles.  Bring back to boil.  Allow to boil, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender, about 7 minutes.




















Pour noodles into colander and rinse.  Drain well.  Transfer noodles to large bowl, drizzle with sesame oil and rice vinegar, and add sesame seeds.  The sesame oil mixture adds a great nutty flavor, as well as prevents the noodles from sticking to each other. 

Toss well.  Using tongs, portion onto 4 serving plates, about 1 cup noodles each and top with eggplant mixture.  Garnish with chili paste, if desired.



Serves 4.  Prep 10.  Cook 25.

I hope you all enjoy this dish as much as we did.  I wish I had leftovers for lunch this week, but sadly for me, there weren't any left.

*Note, this dish could be made Vegetarian or Vegan, using plain water in lieu of chicken broth, and substituting 2 Tb Hoison Sauce in place of the oyster sauce and sugar.  May alter flavor slightly.