Author Notes: We loooove hoisin sauces, but the stuff you see on the shelf can be too candy-like. This umami-packed DIY version based on dried fruit (!) has a mellow sweetness, plenty of miso funk and a bit of heat. A pinch of pumpkin pie spice (!!) gives it that mysterious aromatic punch found in my favorite hoisin sauces – cinnamon, ginger, cloves, etc.
Here I’m using the DIY Hoisin to glaze some portobello mushrooms and an eggplant. Enjoy! —Jeremy Fink
Serves: 3-4
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 hrs
Ingredients
DIY Hoisin Sauce (makes about 2 cups)
-
16
dried prunes
-
4
tablespoons miso (white or red to taste)
-
2
tablespoons soy sauce
-
1
teaspoon red pepper flakes
-
1/2
teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Hoisin Glazed Mushrooms and Eggplant
-
4
medium sized portobello mushroom caps
-
1
medium sized eggplant
-
1
tablespoon neutral oil
-
1/2
cup coarsely chopped peanuts
-
1/2
cup chopped scallion
-
8-10
big lettuce leaves (romaine, bibb, etc.)
Directions
DIY Hoisin Sauce (makes about 2 cups)
- Coarsely chop prunes. Put all ingredients in a blender with water to cover. Blend until smooth. Add more water for desired consistency.
Hoisin Glazed Mushrooms and Eggplant
- Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.
- Wash the mushrooms. If the mushroom caps have a lot of gills in them, you can scrape them out a bit. Not a big deal.
- Peel the eggplant and cut in half. Cut a bit off of the round side so that you have two big eggplant “steaks”.
-
Massage the mushrooms and eggplant with a little oil and place them on a roasting pan. Place the mushrooms tops up.
(The mushrooms will give off a lot of liquid as they cook. I like to use a roasting pan with a drip tray. If you don’t have one, try to use a big enough pan to allow the liquid to evaporate quickly.)
- Cook until everything looks sort of “relaxed” – around 30-40 minutes. Flip the veggies over (mushroom tops down) and brush with DIY Hoisin. Cook for another 5-10 minutes. Flip again (mushroom tops up) and brush with more DIY Hoisin. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.
- Remove veggies and slice into 1/2-inch thick strips. Serve with chopped peanuts and scallions, additional DIY Hoisin and lettuce leaves.
Photo by Jeremy Fink