Ingredients
Eggplant and cheese skewers:
- ½ eggplant
- 120 g of Emmental cheese
- 3 tbsp of Yakitori sauce
- Some sesame seeds, to sprinkle
Textured Soy Protein Meatball Skewers:
- 60 g of small textured soy protein flakes
- 300 ml of water
- 1.5 tbsp of tamari soy sauce
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 large shallot
- 1 large garlic clove
- 8 sprigs of chives
- 20-25 g of fresh ginger
- 60 g of oatmeal
- 2 tbsp of cornstarch
- 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp of Yakitori sauce
- Some sesame seeds to sprinkle
Mushroom Skewers with Soy Sauce:
- 18 small button mushrooms, cleaned
- 8 tbsp of sweet soy sauce
- 2 tbsp of sesame oil
- 1 tbsp of rice vinegar
- 2 spring onions
- Some sesame seeds to sprinkle
Instructions
For the eggplant and cheese skewers:
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, cut 6 thin slices lengthwise of eggplant. Place the eggplant slices on a baking sheet previously covered with a baking mat, making sure they don’t overlap.
Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with some Yakitori sauce. Place in the oven at half height for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the Emmental cheese into 6 equal sticks. Prick each cheese stick lengthwise on the skewers.
Once the eggplants are out of the oven, wrap a slice around each cheese stick. In a skillet heat a drizzle of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Fry the skewers for 7 minutes, flipping them regularly. When the cheese begins to melt, brush the skewers with a generous layer of Yakitori sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
For the Textured Soy Protein Meatball Skewers: Bring some water to a boil. In a large bowl, place the soy protein, boiling water, tamari soy sauce and crumbled stock cube.
Cover and let stand for at least 15 minutes. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and pour the previous preparation. Fry for 5 minutes, until water has completely evaporated.
Meanwhile, peel and coarsely chop the shallot, garlic, ginger, and chives. Place them in the bowl of a blender with the oats and rehydrated soy protein. Blend until obtaining a slightly granular texture.
Take a small amount of the mixture and, using your hands, form small balls by pressing and rolling the dough. Pour the cornstarch into a bowl and cover the vegetarian meatballs to prevent them from sticking during cooking.
Steam for 25 minutes.
Heat the vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
Fry the meatballs for 8 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the Yakitori sauce to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes. Assemble the skewers with 3 meatballs per skewer and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
For the mushroom skewers with soy sauce: Remove the stems from the mushrooms. In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Add the mushrooms and mix gently to coat them with sauce. Let marinate for a few minutes.
In the meantime, cut the spring onions into 4 cm pieces. Add them to the marinade.
Heat a pan over medium heat. Pour the entire mixture into the pan and fry, stirring regularly, for 15 minutes. Assemble the skewers by alternating a mushroom with a piece of spring onion. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Place the skewers in the two containers of the MB Square bento box, with some rice and the raw vegetables of your choice as sides. Reheat the skewers before eating.
