Cauliflower and Eggplant Adobo
Adobo is a Filipino dish made with meat, seafood, or vegetables braised in soy sauce, vinegar, herbs, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Chef Rudy Smith, corporate chef at Unilever Food Solutions, was inspired by this classic flavor profile to make a vegetarian twist on adobo with cauliflower and eggplant. The vegetables are braised in soy sauce, Knorr® Professional Liquid Concentrated Vegetable Base and vinegar and aromatics. Savory, sweet, and tart, your guests will love this Cauliflower and Eggplant Adobo.
Yield: 8 servings
Method
Quickly deep-fry the diced eggplant to give it some color and soften.
Combine the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, soy sauce, vinegar, and vegetable base in a sautoir.
Add the cauliflower florets and bring to a simmer, simmer, and reduce, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender.
Remove the cauliflower and continue to reduce the liquid until it thickens into a syrup.
Add the cauliflower back into the pan, as well as the eggplant. Reheat and glaze with the sauce, it may have to reduce again to get to the right consistency once the vegetables are added.
Garnish with the sliced scallions and serve with steamed rice.
Source: Chef Rudy Smith from Unilever Food Solutions. Published with permission of the author. All rights reserved.
Ingredients
2 ea. Japanese eggplant, large dice
as needed, oil for frying
3-4 ea. garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
3-4 ea. bay leaves
¾ cup soy sauce
¾ cup white vinegar
2 Tbsp. Knorr® Liquid Concentration Vegetable Base
1 ea. cauliflower, cut into florets
¼ cup scallions, sliced
as needed, Rice, cooked, held hot
This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service,
thanks to the generous support of Unilever Food Solutions.
