In a pot: 3 Thai chillies, 3 garlic cloves, small onion - all chopped and sauteed in oil till onions start to brown. Then some cumin, paprika, black pepper, and should be lemongrass, but I only had lemons. Toast the spices in the pot, then add a splash or two of soy sauce ( non vegan sauces are usually an oyster sauce or fish sauce) and some mushroom salt. Add a bit of water and simmer it.

Then at the end I added some sugar, water and cornstarch to thicken it. Normally I’d skip that since I like the hot spicy sauce and the moisture from the veg, but my wife enjoys the thicker sweeter spicy sauce.

The eggplants stirfried in a pan give a nice juicness that adds to the sauce.