Aubergine and Peanut Stir-Fry

Another one of those recipes brought on by an excessive craving for certain flavours. This time: meltingly soft aubergines, crunchy peanuts, and a big pile of egg noodles - that last probably brought on by the quick cycle ride and run I went for, after work. The meal was roughly inspired by this recipe, but I made a few substitutions and didn't even try griddling the baby aubergines - it takes AGES compared to popping them in the oven and going out. Oh, and this is way better than it looks - sorry the photo isn't super-inspiring, but the ready-prepared tofu just isn't that attractive. Tasty, though.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 baby aubergines, or one large aubergine
• 1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice or ground coriander
• vegetable oil
• half a head of Chinese cabbage
• three spring onions
• thin egg noodles (we used three bundles, two is enough if you're not super-hungry)
• 3 tbsp peanut butter
• juice of one orange
• juice of one lime
• 3 tbsp cooking rice wine or sake
• soy sauce
• 200g prepared flavoured tofu (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C. Chop the aubergine(s) into bite-size pieces. Put in a baking dish and toss with the ground spice and enough oil to lightly coat - about 2 tbsp. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown and tender.

Slice the cabbage diagonally, and finely chop the spring onions. Soak the egg noodles in boiling water straight from the kettle, then drain. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, adding enough soy sauce for your preferred degree of saltiness. Stir-fry the cabbage and spring onions for two minutes, then add the cooked aubergine, tofu, and noodles. Pour the sauce over the noodles- adding the sauce on top of the noodles ensures they will all be coated, and some sauce will sink down to the bottom and go on the vegetables. Turn off the heat, mix together as best you can, and serve.