The first in a series of recipes from all the fabulous new fall books I've recently received. This one, The Chinese Way, by Betty Liu, had me cooking immediately. The gochujang-braised eggplant immediately caught my eye and I've already made it twice! I've also made the charred udon noodles with beef and pickled red onion. There are so many more calling my name. What I love about this book is how bliu07 teaches about the fundamental techniques of traditional Chinese cooking but incorporates a wide range of ingredients that you might find in the kitchen of a cook who lives in Boston, has a child, and is in medical school. I honestly don't know how she does it! This recipe is from the braising chapter, and my riffs (which are encouraged) were to use brown rice, add tofu to the sauce, and use umeboshi plum-flavored sesame seeds. . . . #fallcooking #chinesecooking #eggplant #sesameseeds #gochujang #gochujangsauce