Asian-Inspired Eggplant Dip

February 28, 2021

I'm Chef Eduardo, and I'm a plant-based chef.

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I've been a professional chef for over 10 years and now I'm sharing my knowledge and helping people learn how to cook with plants to make them delicious!

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Gluten-free · Nut-free · Soy-free

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This recipe can be used as a dip or spread. I wanted to pair eggplant with some of my favorite Asian flavors and put it all together in a dip form. The fresh citrus notes of ginger, the intense aroma of toasted sesame oil, the spiciness of gochujang paste, and the savoriness of tamari all come together really well. It goes great toast or you can serve it with crudité. You could also refine it and pass it through a Tamis or sieve and it will have a softer, more airy texture. It’s creamy, mildly spicy (due to the gochujang paste) and with smoky notes, because it’s cooked in a cast-iron pan. I recommend using a cast-iron pan if you have one hand since it gives a nice charry flavor to anything you cook it, but if not, a regular skillet would do.

This recipe is gluten-free, but be aware of gochujang paste—some pre-made pastes contain wheat, so make sure to check the package.

Substitutions

  • Substitute sesame seeds for sunflower seeds

  • If you don’t have gochujang paste, use 1 chopped red chili instead 

  • Use lime instead of lemons 

  • Substitute the cauliflower for 1 steamed potato 

Equipment

For this Asian-inspired eggplant dip, you’re going to need:

  • Cast-iron pan or skillet

  • Food processor 

  • Bowl

  • Spatula 

  • Something to weigh down the eggplant in the pan (this could be a heavy pan or pot).

Uses

Use this as a dip or a spread for canapés, snacks, and sides.

 

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Yields: 355g

Ingredients

1/2 large eggplant 

4g sea salt, plus more for seasoning

20ml olive oil, for cooking 

203g cauliflower florets 

24g garlic cloves (about 5 cloves), peeled

20g ginger, peeled and sliced into 2’’ slices

180ml vegetable broth, divided

8g gochujang paste (fermented red chili paste)

20g toasted sesame seeds 

3ml toasted sesame oil

40ml extra virgin olive oil 

20ml tamari 

Lemon zest, to taste

Lemon juice, to taste

Toppings

Cilantro leaves, to taste

Sliced scallion tops, to taste

Method

  1. Use a knife to score the eggplant on the cut side and sprinkle with 4g of salt. Let sit for 20 minutes to release water. After 20 minutes, squeeze the eggplant with your hands until all the water has come out.

  2. Heat a cast-iron pan or skillet on medium flame and add oil, cauliflower, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 6 minutes or until everything has a nice golden color.

  3. Add 80ml vegetable broth to the pan, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is soft (about 10 minutes). Season with a little bit of salt, remove from pan, and set aside.

  4. In the same pan add a little bit of the oil and sear the eggplant cut-side down. You can add some weight on top of it so that it lays flat in the pan to get the most amount of caramelization going on. Sear for about 5 minutes or until dark golden brown.

  5. Flip the eggplant, add 100ml of vegetable broth to the pan, and cover. Cook for 15 minutes on low flame or until completely cooked through. You’ll know it’s cooked through when all the flesh is nice and soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

  6. In a food processor place the seared cauliflower, garlic, and ginger. Scrape the eggplant meat from the skin and add it too. Finally, add the gochujang paste, half of the sesame seeds, sesame oil, and extra virgin olive oil. Process to combine. The dip should be thick and creamy.

  7. Transfer to a bowl and season with tamari, lemon zest, and lemon juice to taste. Mix in the rest of the sesame seeds and serve on toast topped with cilantro and sliced scallion tops.

 

 

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I'm Chef Eduardo, and I'm a plant-based chef living in New York City.

more about me

I've been a professional chef for over 10 years and now I'm sharing my knowledge and helping people learn how to cook with plants to make them delicious!

categories

learn how to master vegan cooking

find out more

categories

starters

events

snacks

sides

breakfast

dessert

mains

bread

sauces

nutrition

lifestyle

cooking

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