Noodle Salad with Marinated Aubergine / Eggplant : Vegan : Low Carb

As regular readers know, this blog brings a variety of articles, studies, thoughts, music and recipes! It is presented in a magazine style - we hope something for everyone. Our main focus is about the Low Carb Higher (Healthy) Fat lifestyle, LCHF for short, and you can read/find out more about that here

Recently we have seen that more and more we have regular readers, and followers, who choose to eat vegetarian or vegan, so with this in mind I am featuring this low carb and gluten free noodle salad, which is a favourite of Martine's at Low Carb Vegan blog. She says, it is bursting with Asian flavours from the juicy marinated aubergine/eggplant and fried tofu. It is nice and quick to make too, especially if you marinade the aubergine/eggplant in advance.  A great way to prepare aubergine/eggplant - it is very versatile … for instance, you could also use it as a filling for sushi. 

Ingredients 
Serves Two
1 large aubergine/eggplant, in 1 inch cubes
4 tablespoons rice vinegar or lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar free syrup or other sweetener, to taste
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons sesame oil
300 gram (10 oz.) tofu or seitan, cubed
1 tablespoon neutrally flavoured oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 servings low carb noodles or rice (soy noodles, miracle noodles, zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice etc.)
1/2 of a large cucumber, cubed
1-2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds

A few tablespoons fresh basil or coriander, finely ribboned (optional) 

Instructions
1. Add the cubed aubergine/eggplant to a bowl with the vinegar, soy sauce, sweetener and garlic. Give it a good mix, so everything is covered with the marinade and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. If you want, you can do this several hours in advance.
2. Drain the aubergine/eggplant, but keep the leftover marinade to use later. In a non-stick skillet/frying pan, cook the marinated aubergine/eggplant cubes in the sesame oil on medium heat until browned and completely tender. Turn them every few minutes so they cook on all sides. Whey they are almost done, you can pour some of the marinade over them so they get nice and juicy. Also keep some of the marinade for the dressing.
3. In the mean time, fry the tofu cubes in the neutral oil until brown and crispy. When it is done, add the soy sauce and give it a good mix so the tofu absorbs the sauce. Set the tofu aside.
4. Prepare the noodles of your choice according to the instructions on the packaging or to preference. For instance, you may want to give zucchini noodles a quick stir fry. Mix in the leftover aubergine/eggplant marinade as a dressing. You can also add a bit of extra sesame oil if you like.

5. Divide the noodles over two bowls and put the aubergine/eggplant, tofu and cucumber on top. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and fresh herbs, if using.

Please note, the amount of carbs per serving will depend on what type of "noodle" you select. 

Readers please remember, not all the recipes ideas featured in this blog may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan