Vegan Eggplant Rolls Stuffed with Asian Risotto

This Vegan Eggplant Rolls Stuffed with Asian Risotto recipe is a rich and savory dish packed with umami flavors. The perfect Asian-Italian infusion!

Vegan | Gluten-free | Soy-free

Are you ready to take vegan risotto to a whole new level? This Vegan Eggplant Rolls Stuffed with Asian Risotto recipe is one of the most elevated recipes I’ve made. It’s a creamy, savory, and packed with umami flavors risotto, rolled up in grilled eggplant that will leave you craving more.

I already love risotto, but adding sesame oil, Shichimi Togarashi, and using Asian mushrooms like shiitake, Porcini, and Oyster Mushrooms really did it for me. If you like fusion food, this Asian-Italian recipe is for you!

The making of: Vegan Eggplant Rolls Stuffed with Asian Risotto

Asian Mushroom Risotto

An Asian-style risotto cooked in a beautiful mushroom and Shichimi Togarashi flavored stock for a gorgeously earthy and satisfying dish. I know risotto may seem intimidating, but making these things easier is my thing. 

For this recipe, dried mushrooms work best, because you can infuse the stock with mushroom flavors while hydrating the mushrooms with all the stock flavors. First, you’ll need to prepare the stock by heating up vegetable stock and adding Shichimi Togarashi, which is a Japanese Seven Spice. This popular spice blend consisting of dried chiles, sesame seeds, granulated orange peel, salt, granulated nori (seaweed), and spice, adds a fiery umami kick to the risotto. Then you’ll add the dried mushrooms, and allow them to hydrate for about 30 minutes. This step can be done the day before cooking the risotto, the flavors will mend even more together giving it extra intensity. 

Once the broth is ready, remove the mushrooms and slice them into smaller pieces if needed. 

To start the risotto, heat up sesame oil in a large cooking pot, add onion and cook until translucent. Then, garlic, green onions, mushrooms, and vegan butter, and cook until the mushrooms have released some of their water. Stir in rice for brief toasting until it’s completely incorporated with the mushroom mixture. Then pour in ½  cup vegetable broth at a time and stir in between until all the broth is used and the rice is thick and cooked. This process can take up to 20 minutes and it’s important not to rush the process by adding a lot of stock to the pot at once. If you do that, your risotto won’t cook evenly and you might end up with soup. When the last ½ cup has been added, add nutritional yeast, salt, pepper & parsley. By the end, the rice should be al dente; when the rice still has a little bit of firmness left in it and the texture of the dish is creamy. Then everything gets rolled up into grilled eggplant slices.

Warning, you may need to make extra because it is just THAT good. You can add other mushroom types, such as shemiji, enoki, and maitake.

Eggplant Rolls

From roasting and frying to pureeing and stuffing, eggplant is used to create many incredible dishes around the world. I personally love it as lasagna sheets and breaded. But in this recipe, we’re going to keep it simple.

First, thinly slice the eggplants. Place slices on a cooling rack and sprinkle with salt to draw excess water out for about 15 minutes. Pat the eggplant slices dry with a paper towel. Brush them lightly with sesame oil and grill them on a grill pan over medium-high heat, turning once, for about 5 minutes per side. Working on a cutting board, place a spoonful of the risotto at the widest end of the eggplant. Roll up the eggplant slice and place it on the serving platter seam-side down. Top the eggplant rolls with lemon juice, a swirl of sesame oil, and oregano leaves. ENJOY!

Notes:

• For the risotto, feel free to use any other mushrooms you have at hand.
• Make your own Shichimi Togarashi by following this recipe. Alternatively, you can buy it here.
• I got my dried mushrooms from Spice Jungle.
• Give this recipe an extra kick by switching the lemon juice in the risotto for ¾ cup of white wine. 
• Leftovers? Store in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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Vegan Eggplant Rolls Stuffed with Asian Risotto

Rating: 3.5/5

( 2 voted )

Serves: 4-6 Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes 40 minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

Asian Risotto:

• 4-6 cups vegetable broth
• ½ tbsp Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese Seven Spice)
• 2 cups (about 45g) dry mushrooms of choice (I used a mix of shiitake, porcini, and oyster mushrooms)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1 ½ cup medium-grain rice or arborio rice, rinsed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp vegan butter
• ¾ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper to taste

Eggplant:

• 2 eggplants
• Salt
• Sesame oil
• White sesame seeds
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ lemon

Procedure

Asian Risotto:

1. First, you’ll need to prepare the stock by heating up vegetable stock and adding the Shichimi Togarashi. 
2. Then you’ll add the dried mushrooms, and allow them to hydrate for about 30 minutes. This process will not only hydrate the mushrooms but will also infuse the stock with mushroom flavor. Note: This step can be done the day before cooking the risotto, the flavors will mend even more together giving it extra intensity. 
3. Once the broth is ready, remove the mushrooms and slice them into smaller pieces if needed. 
4. To start the risotto, heat up sesame oil in a large cooking pot to medium-high heat, add onion and cook until translucent (about 3-5minutes). 
5. Then add the garlic, green onions, mushrooms, vegan butter, and cook for the next 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms have released some of their water. 
6. Stir in rice for brief toasting until it’s completely incorporated with the mushroom mixture. At this point, the rice will release some of its starches.
7. Lower the heat to medium-low and then scoop ½ cup of the broth into the risotto with the lemon juice.
8. Mix well and then leave the risotto to cook over medium heat, stirring every 30 seconds, to prevent the rice from sticking at the bottom of the pot.
9. When the rice absorbs most of the liquid, scoop another ½ cup of broth and add it to the risotto. Continue to mix occasionally.
10. Season the risotto with some salt, to taste.
11. Repeat steps 7-9; continue adding broth as needed to cook down the rice. The risotto will thicken from the starches of the rice; it will take around 30-35 minutes for your rice to get al dente. Note: It’s important to not rush the process by adding a lot of stock to the pot at once. If you do that, your risotto won't cook evenly and you might end up with soup.
12. When the last ½ cup has been added, add nutritional yeast, salt, pepper & parsley. By the end, the rice should be al dente; when the rice still has a little bit of firmness left in it and the texture of the dish is creamy. 

Eggplant:

1. Slice the eggplants lengthwise into 1 cm thick slices. 
2. Place slices on top of a cooling rack and sprinkle with salt to draw excess water out for about 15 minutes. Pat the eggplant slices dry with a paper towel. 
3. Heat a grill pan to medium-high heat.
4. Brush each slice lightly with sesame oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill them on a grill pan over medium-high heat, turning once, for about 5 minutes per side until golden in color and tender.
5. When ready, remove from heat and place on a plate. Repeat with each slice.

Assembling:

1. Working on a cutting board, place a spoonful of the risotto at the widest end of the eggplant. 
2. Roll up the eggplant slice and place it on the serving platter seam-side down. 
3. Top the eggplant rolls with lemon juice, a swirl of sesame oil, and oregano leaves. 
4. Serve right away, and ENJOY!

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