Rice with aubergine

Most of the time, like many of us, I'm super busy. To make sure I eat well and with plenty of variety, I plan my meal for a whole week and do groceries only twice a week. But sometimes, when I go to the market on Saturday, I run into something I have to buy and I change my plans. Last Saturday I managed to buy 3 white aubergines for one 1€ and immediately by brain starts to heat up and I try to think of a new recipe. This time it's a vegetarian dish where the aubergine is the star. Together with your favorite spicy sambal!

Ingredients: • 2 or 3 small aubergines (the purple ones will do too) • 1 red onion • 3 garlic cloves • 1 thumb of ginger • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup • 3 tbsp soy sauce • 1 tsp sesame oil • 1 tbsp rice vinegar • 2 tbsp dry sherry or sake • 1 tsp spicy sambal (or a red chilli pepper) • 2 tbsp sweet sambal (like manis) • 1,5 tbsp sugar • salt and pepper •

1. Pre-heat your oven at 200°C. Put some oil, salt and pepper on your aubergine and grill in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size.

2. Heat up a pan and saute your finely chopped ginger, onion and garlic.

3. Mix all the other ingredients for the sauce together. As soon as the aubergine comes out of the oven, you add the sauce mixture to the sauted onion mixture.

4. When the sauce starts to blip and thicken a little bit, you add the aubergine. You can leave the aubergine 'whole' or cut into small cubes before adding it to the sauce.

5. Garnish with spring onion and pair with some nice and sticky white rice.

Enjoy!

PS. I think white aubergine is a little more sweet than their purple brother. Also the skin seems a little softer after cooking.