Spicy Eggplant Stew

I made up this recipe one day when I was trying to figure out what to do
with an entire eggplant:


1 large eggplant, cubed
1 large yellow onion, chopped coarsely into bits
6-10 mushrooms, sliced
sesame oil
soy sauce
soy bean paste (I don't have the jar with me, so I have no idea what it's
really caled, but it's a dark red paste made with soy beans, and it's
really spicy and really good)
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Prepare all your ingredients.  Heat up a big pot on high heat, and put
enough sesame oil in to cover the bottom of the pot.  Toss in the onions,
season with a little salt, and saute them until just transparent.
2.  Dump in all the eggplant.  Stir everything around until the eggplant,
onions, and oil are about equally distributed.  (You might want to add just
a splash of water to help the eggplant along.)  Sprinkle with more salt. 
Don't worry about adding too much salt--the eggplant tends to suck it right
up, and it helps the cooking process along.  Add enough to taste.  Turn the
heat to low, and put the lid on the pot.
3.  In a small bowl, mix together a tablespoon of the soy bean paste with
2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce and a teaspoon of sesame oil.  Mix thoroughly.
 When the eggplant starts to get soft, add the sliced mushrooms into the
pot, pour this mixture in, stir everything around, and put the lid back on.
4.  Let simmer until everything collapses to a weird, but flavorful mush. 
(Takes about 45 min.)  Serve as a side dish, or spoon over rice.

-- 
Sylvia Chong                            Swarthmore College
schong1@cc.swarthmore.edu