- Total recipe cost | R 32.48
- Servings | 4
- Portion cost | R 8.12
This simple recipe is dripping with flavour – and for a price that’s truly difficult to beat! If you’re looking for a more authentic taste (and budget isn’t your concern), be sure to use mirin instead of white wine.
Aubergine Teriyaki
This vegan teriyaki dish is definitely a cheat’s version. By all accounts, you should use Japanese mirin and rice wine vinegar in place of the wine and apple cider vinegar. But, if you’re on a tight budget, you can skip all that and still delight in every bite of this better-than-takeaway vegan main.
Yields: 4 servings
- For the teriyaki sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce | R 8.75
- ¼ cup white wine | R 3.15
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar | R 0.35
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar | R 0.68
- ½ cup water | R 0.00
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch | R 0.21
- For the aubergine and rice
- 500 grams aubergine (cut into cubes) | R 9.50
- 1 cup brown rice | R 4.63
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil | R 0.27
- 1 onion (quartered) | R 1.75
- ¼ cup sesame seeds | R 3.20
Make the teriyaki sauce | Combine the soy sauce, wine, vinegar and sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Combine the cornstarch with a little water and stir into the sauce. Cook, whisking as needed until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Marinate the aubergine | Place the cubed aubergine in a bowl and coat with the teriyaki sauce. Set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes. (Longer is better.)
Make the rice | Cook the rice according to package instructions, or your preferred method.
Cook the aubergine | Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the onions and toss to coat with the oil. Add the marinated aubergine, spooning in any additional sauce and cook, stirring continuously for 8-10 minutes until the aubergine is cooked through.
Serve | Divide the rice between bowls, spoon over the aubergine teriyaki and sprinkle over the sesame seeds.
- Preparation time: 30 minutes
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 50 minutes
Recipe Tips
- You may want to busy yourself with chopping the aubergine while the teriyaki sauce cooks down. It saves more than a few minutes.
- If you worry about the aubergine tasting bitter, you can, cube it, salt it, leave it in a bowl to sit and then rinse before using.
- If you have mirin in the house (or are willing to splash out), use that in place of the wine and halve your vinegar. It makes a delicious difference – especially if you’re into authentic flavours.
- By all means add some sliced garlic, greens or other veggies to this recipe if you need to use them up. They can only add to it.
How to make aubergine teriyaki even cheaper
It’s going to be difficult to make this vegan recipe cheaper than it is, but you could try:
- Opt for the cheapest wine you can find. If it’s very sweet, cut your added sugar.
- Leave out the sesame seeds. They do add a little something, but they’re not critical.
