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    Home » Recipes » Vegetarian / Vegan

    Vegan Mabo Nasu (Spicy Mapo Eggplant Stir Fry)

    Published: May 31, 2021 · Modified: Sep 20, 2021 by Yuto Omura

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    Mabo Nasu is a mildly spicy, flavour packed eggplant dish influenced by Chinese cuisine. If you're a fan of Mabo Tofu, you're gonna love this dish! I've also used all vegan ingredients for this recipe so it can be enjoyed by everyone who loves a bit of spice!

    Vegan Mabo Nasu (spicy eggplant stir fry) with rice and a wooden spoon

    Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Sudachi Recipes earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. See disclaimer for more info.

    Mabo Nasu

    What is Mabo Nasu?

    Mabo Nasu is a spicy stir fry dish made with eggplant and ground meat (usually pork). It's served in a fragrant sauce flavoured with fresh ginger, garlic and a spicy bean paste called tobanjan. It's most commonly served with rice.

    My mabo nasu recipe is really a combination of mabo tofu and mabo nasu. I've taken out the pork mince and made sure to use all vegan friendly ingredients, you're gonna love it!

    Mabo Nasu in a rustic bowl with rice, wooden spoon and scattered red chili peppers close up

    The origin of Mabo Nasu

    Mabo Nasu is a little similar to a dish called "Yú Xiāng" (鱼香茄子), from the south western province of China, called Szechuan. Szechuan is well known for their spicy Szechuan peppers and the dishes that use them.

    Yú Xiāng actually means "fish fragrant" in Chinese. This is not because it's fishy, but because it was originally cooked with a sauce meant for fish.

    Despite some similarity to Yú Xiāng, Japanese Mabo Nasu is cooked and prepared in the same way as Mapo Tofu, the tofu is simply replaced with eggplant. "Nasu" (ナス) is the Japanese word for eggplant.

    Mabo Nasu in a rustic bowl with rice, wooden spoon and scattered red chili peppers side view

    Although most Japanese people don't have a high tolerance for spicy food, Szechuan dishes are the most famous Chinese dishes in Japan.

    Mabo Nasu became popular after Japanese companies started selling pre-made Chinese style sauces at supermarkets. These sauces are usually quite mild to suit Japanese tastes. Thanks to them, dishes like Mabo Nasu became popular and easy to make at home!

    Mabo Nasu in a rustic bowl with rice, wooden spoon and scattered red chili peppers

    Watch how to make Vegan Mabo Nasu

    Essential Ingredients

    Eggplant

    With a dish called Mapo Eggplant, of course you need eggplant for this dish!

    I use Japanese eggplant which is characterized by it's deep purple colour and long shape, but most kinds of eggplant work for this recipe.

    It's important to leave the skin so that the eggplant pieces hold their shape when cooking.

    I also soak the eggplant in cold water with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes, and then dry it with a paper towel before cooking. This helps remove any bitterness from the eggplant and also prevents it from soaking up too much oil when we fry it!

    Mabo Nasu in a rustic bowl with rice, wooden spoon and scattered red chili peppers close up

    Tobanjan

    One of the most important ingredients in this dish is called tobanjan (also known as la doubanjian). It’s a spicy fermented bean paste from Szechuan and it’s delicious! It's also often called chili bean paste in English.

    I can't say that every tobanjan is suitable for vegetarians, but I used the "Lee Kum Kee" brand tobanjan which doesn't contain any animal products. You can see the full list of ingredients used to make their tobanjan here. (And you can purchase on Amazon here.)

    Mabo Nasu in a rustic bowl with rice, wooden spoon and scattered red chili peppers

    Soy Meat

    Although you can make this dish simply with eggplants and tofu, I wanted to create a firmer texture. That's why I decided to replace the pork mince with soy meat, also known as "texturized vegetable protein" or TVP.

    The great thing about soy meat is, it's quick to cook, has a good texture and absorbs flavours really well!

    Mabo Nasu sprinkled with spring onion, in rustic bowl with wooden spoon

    I'm happy that soy meat is becoming more popular in Japan these days. There's so many recipes I wanna try!

    I also add some crushed nuts for a bit of added crunch! You can use cashews, peanuts or macadamia nuts!

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    Mabo Nasu in a rustic bowl with rice, wooden spoon and scattered red chili peppers close up

    Vegan Mabo Nasu (Spicy Mapo Eggplant Stir Fry)


    • Author: Yuto Omura
    • Total Time: 30 minutes
    • Yield: 2 portions 1x
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    Description

    How to make spicy, fragrant and delicious Japanese style Mabo Nasu (Spicy Mapo Eggplant Stir Fry) Eggplants and soy meat stir fried in a tasty Chinese inspired sauce made of garlic, ginger and chili bean paste.

    Suitable for vegans/vegetarians. Serves 2


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 2 Japanese eggplants (200g) See note
    • Bowl of cold water (for soaking)
    • 1 pinch salt
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1 tbsp fresh ginger
    • 1 tbsp spring onion (white part)
    • 2 tbsp sesame oil
    • 1 tbsp tobanjan
    • ½ tsp sugar
    • 1 pinch black pepper
    • 70g soy meat (mince style)
    • 2 tbsp crushed nuts cashew or peanuts (optional)
    • 1 tbsp sake
    • 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
    • 300ml vegetable stock
    • 2 tbsp water + 1 tsp corn starch
    • 2 bowls of cooked rice
    • Spring onion (green part - optional garnish)
    • Chili threads (optional garnish)

    Instructions

    1. First, wash your egg plants and cut off the stems. Cut them down the middle, lengthways and then cut into rough chunks.
      Cutting eggplant on a wooden chopping board
    2. Place the eggplant pieces into a bowl of cold water and add a pinch of salt. Leave to soak for 5 minutes, then drain the water and dry the eggplant with a paper towel.
      eggplant with salt in a bowl of water
    3. Finely dice the garlic cloves, ginger and spring onion.
      finely dicing garlic cloves
    4. Crush the cashew nuts. (I used a mortar and pestle but you can cut them with a sharp knife.)
      crushing cashew nuts in a mortar and pestle
    5. Heat a pan on medium and add 1 tbsp of sesame oil.
      drizzling sesame oil into a pan
    6. Once hot, add the garlic cloves, ginger and spring onion. Fry until fragrant.
      stir frying garlic, ginger and spring onion
    7. Next, add 1 tbsp tobanjan, ½ tsp sugar and a pinch of black pepper to the pan and mix. 
      adding tobanjan, sugar and black pepper to the pan
    8. Now add the soy meat and crushed nuts, stir fry for a few minutes.
      adding soy meat and crushed nuts to the pan
    9. Add 1 tbsp sake, 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce to the pan and mix.
      adding soy sauce and sake to the pan
    10. Add the eggplant to the pan and drizzle 1 tbsp of sesame oil over the top. Stir fry until the eggplant pieces are lightly coated with the flavours from the pan and changed colour slightly.
      adding eggplant to the pan and drizzling them with sesame oil
    11. Next, add 300ml of vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
      adding vegetable stock to the mabo nasu
    12. In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp of water and 1 tsp of cornstarch together. Pour the mixture into the pan and mix well.
      adding a slurry to the mabo nasu to thicken the sauce
    13. Continue to mix on the heat until the liquid thickens and reaches the desired consistency. 
      mabo nasu simmering in a pan
    14. Sprinkle with spring onion (green part) and chili threads (optional). Serve with rice.
      Mabo Nasu in a rustic bowl with rice, wooden spoon and scattered red chili peppers side view
    15. Enjoy!
      Mabo Nasu sprinkled with spring onion, in rustic bowl with wooden spoon

    Notes

    Japanese eggplants are quite small, you can use American, Italian or Chinese eggplants instead, just be aware of the size difference. (You might only need 1 -1.5)

    • Prep Time: 10 mins
    • Cook Time: 20 mins
    • Category: Vegan
    • Method: Frying / Boiling
    • Cuisine: Japanese / Chinese

    Keywords: mabo nasu, mabo nasu recipe, Japanese mabo nasu, Japanese eggplant, Japanese eggplant recipes, easy eggplant recipe, spicy eggplant, spicy aubergine, mapo eggplant, mapo aubergine, aubergine recipe, eggplant recipe, mapo sauce, eggplant tofu, eggplant tofu recipe, how to make mabo nasu, mapo nasu, vegan mabo nasu, vegan mapo eggplant

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    Thanks for visiting Sudachi Recipes. My name is Yuto and I'm a Japanese guy with a passion for food. Here I share tasty and accessible recipes so that you can bring a taste of Japan to your own kitchen.

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