Sweet and Sour Soy Cubes with Eggplant (vegan)

I love Asian food so much, and since it's pretty easy to make at home I always experiment with new recipes and try to use the things I have at home. Usually, I make this type of dish with tofu, but yesterday I tried it with soy curls because that was all I had at home, and it turned out even better than the original version! I really recommend you to try this recipe, it's easy, quick and pretty cheap since soy cubes are way more affordable than tofu.

For 2 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of white rice

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of soy curls/ cubes (dehydrated) or 1/2 block of tofu

boiling hot water to hydrate the soy cubes

2 tbsp oil (sesame/ sunflower/ any neutral tasting oil will work)

1 cup of cubed eggplant

2 tbsp of ketchup

1-2 tbsp soy sauce

salt, pepper, chili to taste

if you want to make it sweeter you can add some maple syrup or sugar but it was fine like this for me)

Directions:

First cook your rice according to the packaging (I used 1/2 cup of rice and 1 cup of water for two servings). While it's cooking rehydrate the soy cubes by pouring hot water on them (use enough to cover all of the cubes). (If you use tofu instead of the soy pieces skip this step and just cut your tofu into bite-sized pieces.) Meanwhile cut a piece of eggplant into small cubes (around 1 cup) and when the soy pieces are soft fry them with the eggplant in 1-2 tbsp of oil for 5-10 minutes on medium heat. When the soy cubes are fried and the eggplant is softer add the ketchup, soy sauce and pepper, chili flakes or powder, salt, and maple syrup to taste. If you want a runnier sauce you might need to add a splash of water as well. Stir it well and when it becomes sticky, turn off the heat and serve with the white rice (or even glass noodles would work great) and enjoy!:)