Moo Shu Pancakes, Szechuan Eggplant with Sesame-Fried Rice

Dinner 04/24

Moo Shu Pancakes

Szechuan Eggplant

Sesame-Fried Rice

We love Moo Shu. but haven't made it for a while.

What's hiding on the inside of the pancake? Tea-smoked tofu, shiitake, carrot, snow peas and napa cabbage.

The ratio for the pancakes dough is roughly 2:1 flour to water, plus a pinch of salt, and 1 tsp sesame oil. The trick is rolling them out the right thickness -- not so thick that they're chewy -- and thin enough that they cook evenly and are flexible. These fit that bill perfectly.

We also had some leftover jasmine rice from a stir-fry earlier in the week, so we made sesame fried rice (sesame oil, tamari) as a base for the Szechuan Eggplant.

Szechuan Eggplant

1 eggplant cut into 3/4" cubes

1 tbs. vegetable oil (or canola/peanut)
1 tbs. garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ginger, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

for the sauce:

1/2 cup veg stock (or shiitake broth, or water)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup sherry
1 tbs. tamari
2 tbs. sugar (or agave)

Cut eggplant into 3/4" cubes, add salt and let sit for 20 minutes. Rinse eggplant and pat dry.

Heat a wok to med-high, and add oil. When it just begins to smoke add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flake and stir-fry for 30-45 seconds. Add the eggplant and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until the eggplant starts to show some color.

Combine all of the sauce ingredients and pour over the eggplant.

Bring the sauce to a boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup and is glazing the eggplant.

Check for seasoning / heat level -- If it needs a little kick, we usually add a shot of sriracha -- and serve over the rice.